South Korea and Russia agreed to hold regular disaster cooperation meetings to better facilitate the exchange of know-how and technology to cope with disaster situations, the government said Sunday.

According to the Ministry of Public Safety and Security, a deal was inked in Moscow last week with Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations that called for policy and overall information sharing on anti-disaster operations.

It said the deal signed by Public Safety Minister Park In-yong and his counterpart, Vladimir Puchkov, can benefit Seoul because the Eurasian country has a reservoir of know-how in dealing with heavy snowfall, nuclear accidents and even asteroid impact. The country also operates 31 satellites to assist in disaster relief operations.

South Korea, on the other hand, has considerable expertise in information technology know-how that can be used to issue speedy warnings and make disaster-related predictions.

"The aim is to hold annual meetings and to allow the exchange of personnel," the ministry said.

It added Park and Puchkov concurred on the need to strengthen cooperation in maritime search and rescue, anti-terrorism and other areas of mutual interest.

The ministry said Seoul and Moscow, moreover, agreed to set up a hotline that will allow swift assistance and rescue of South Korean fishing vessels and their crew if they face trouble while operating in Russian waters.

"By setting up cooperative ties, the country can better prepare for emergency situations when they arise," Park said.

South Korea already reached a similar agreement with China last year and plans to hold talks with Japan this year. It will take steps to further strengthen emergency response cooperative ties with the United States in 2016, the government said. (Yonhap)