South Korea’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se will embark on a six-day trip to Australia, New Zealand and Fiji on Thursday, aiming to strengthen strategic diplomatic relations with the Pacific nations, the ministry said Wednesday.

On Friday in Sydney, Yun and Seoul’s Defense Minister Han Min-koo will attend the “two-plus-two” meeting with their Australian counterparts -- Julie Bishop and Kevin Andrews, respectively -- to discuss a range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including North Korea’s continued nuclear threats and provocations.

South Korea and Australia will hold the meeting of their defense and foreign ministers for the second time following the first in Seoul in 2013.

“Recently, there were North Korean provocations and a subsequent spike in tensions on the Korean Peninsula. This could be one focus of the talks (in Australia),” said a Seoul official on condition of anonymity.

“Australia, a participant that fought for South Korea during the Korean War, has always supported Seoul’s policy toward Pyongyang, and Yun’s trip is meaningful given that he would use his trip to reaffirm (Australia’s) support for our policy.”

After the two-plus-two meeting, the two sides are to announce a “blueprint” that would map out a future direction of bilateral cooperation on security and defense, in line with a “vision statement” adopted during a bilateral summit in April 2014, Seoul officials explained.

The two nations’ moves to beef up defense cooperation come as the U.S. is seen cementing the trilateral security partnership with its longtime allies of Japan and Australia through joint exercises and defense exchanges, amid China’s growing assertiveness in its territorial disputes involving the South China Sea.

South Korea has the two-plus-two mechanism with only two countries -- the U.S. and Australia -- which Seoul officials say reflects Seoul’s strategic attention to strengthening cooperation with Canberra.

Australia has the two-plus-two consultation platforms with five other nations beyond South Korea -- the U.S., Britain, Japan, Indonesia and Singapore.

On the invitation of New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Murray McCully, Yun will also visit Auckland. The two ministers will hold a bilateral meeting, possibly on Sunday, to discuss economic cooperation and a set of security issues including North Korea’s nuclear threats.

Fiji is the last leg of Yun’s trip. There, he will hold a meeting with his counterpart Inoke Kubuabola to discuss a wide range of issues including fisheries cooperation, climate change and development support. 

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)