South Korea held defense policy talks with New Zealand Thursday to discuss security issues, including North Korea's recent nuclear and long-range missile tests, the South Korean government said.

Director-General for International Policy Yoon Soon-ku represented South Korea during the talks held at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul, with the New Zealand side headed by Charlotte Beaglehole, director of international relations.

The discussion will encompass defense issues such as the security landscape of the Korean Peninsula in the wake of North Korea's fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch earlier in the month, the ministry said ahead of the talks.

The two sides will also discuss ways to enhance defense cooperation in the fields of commissioned officers' education, joint military exercise and peacekeeping operations, the ministry said.

The director-level talks were first launched in 1999 with an eye to boosting bilateral security cooperation.

Having fought for the South Korean side in the 1950-53 Korean War, New Zealand is one of South Korea's like-minded countries. It has joined Seoul in denouncing North Korea's recent provocative tests. (Yonhap)