South Korea, Indonesia agree to expand cooperation in defence, EV

Seoul, Oct 22 (IANS) South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and the new President of Indonesia held talks earlier this week and agreed to step up bilateral cooperation in defence, electric vehicles and infrastructure, Han's office said on Tuesday.Han made the remarks during a Cabinet meeting, saying that he held a one-on-one meeting with President Prabowo Subianto shortly after attending his inauguration ceremony in Jakarta on Sunday (local time), Yonhap news agency reported."We ask all the relevant ministries to pay special attention to the successful implementation of cooperation projects and to continue discovering new projects with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries, which are increasingly gaining prominence on the global diplomatic stage," he said.

Han departed for Jakarta on Saturday to attend the ceremony and conveyed South Korea's commitment to cooperating closely with the incoming administration to strengthen bilateral relations, before returning home on Monday.During the Cabinet meeting, Han also called for thorough measures to prevent accidents as the country is set to observe the second anniversary of the deadly Itaewon crowd crush next week.