The top diplomats of South Korea and Saudi Arabia held talks in New York on Wednesday (US time) and discussed ways to boost bilateral ties and other regional issues, the foreign ministry said.

During the talks with her Saudi counterpart, Ibrahim bin Abdulaziz Al-Assaf, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha expressed satisfaction that the amicable bilateral relationship has led to developments in such fields as energy, infrastructure and information and communication technology, the ministry said in a release.

Their meeting took place on the margins of the UN General Assembly. 

It follows a visit to Seoul by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in June during which he met with President Moon Jae-in.

She reaffirmed South Korea's position that it strongly condemns the recent drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities as a threat to the international energy supply and global economy, pledging Seoul's active participation in joint efforts to restore peace and stability in the Middle East.

In response, Al-Assaf expressed gratitude for South Korea's denunciation of the attack and stressed the importance of the international community responding with one voice to firmly prevent a recurrence.

Kang also noted that South Korea is Saudi Arabia's best partner in realizing its drive toward industrial diversification aimed at reducing its dependency on crude exports, and that the two sides agreed to work together in areas such as commercial nuclear power, her ministry said. (Yonhap)