South Korea and Australia launched a regular high-level meeting here on Monday to boost cooperation in politics and defense between the two middle powers in the Asia Pacific, Seoul officials said.

The first strategic dialogue was designed to provide a wider framework for detailed bilateral discussions to better cope with the region’s changing security environment, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It is an integration of two high-level talks between the two sides, which have separately covered policy consultations, and politics and defense since 1987.

During the meeting, Seoul’s Deputy Foreign Minister Kim Kyu-hyun and his Australian counterpart Heather Smith exchanged views on the situation in the Asia Pacific and the Korean Peninsula, international security, economic cooperation and other issues, the ministry said.

(heeshin@heraldcorp.com)