The world's largest and most influential professional association for police leaders opened its Asia-Pacific office in South Korea on Thursday, the National Police Agency (NPA) said.

The Asia-Pacific World Regional Office of the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) began its operations at the NPA in central Seoul, the agency said.

The United States-headquartered IACP is the world's largest nonprofit organization of police commanders and currently has about 31,500 members in 168 countries. It also has six other regional offices worldwide.

NPA Commissioner General Kim Chang-yong and IACP Chairman Dwight Henninger agreed to open the association's Asia-Pacific regional office in South Korea at a bilateral meeting held during the International Police Summit Seoul 2021 in October.

The IACP's Asia-Pacific regional office will be headed by the director of the NPA's Foreign Affairs Bureau and will focus on expanding human exchanges through the association network.

In addition, the IACP's Asia-Pacific public security conference will be held in Seoul in 2023 during the fourth International Police Summit. (Yonhap)