South Korea's National Security Council on Thursday reviewed unfolding developments on the Korean Peninsula and vowed to beef up cooperation with neighboring countries to push the nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea forward, the presidential office said.

In the weekly session of the NSC's standing committee, its members also reviewed the results of last week's special summit between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states in Busan, 450 kilometers southeast of Seoul, and decided to take necessary steps to implement the agreements reached there.

The council also discussed progress in talks with the US over an early return to the South of US military bases here. In August, the presidential office said it will seek the prompt return of 26 American military bases, and US Forces Korea said it is committed to returning installations as expeditiously as possible.

Thursday's meeting was presided over by Chung Eui-yong, director of Cheong Wa Dae's national security office. Yonhap)