Park Yoon-joo (right), South Korea’s first vice foreign minister, shakes hands with Phongsamouth Anlavan, Laos’ vice foreign minister, before their meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)
Park Yoon-joo (right), South Korea’s first vice foreign minister, shakes hands with Phongsamouth Anlavan, Laos’ vice foreign minister, before their meeting at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul on Monday. (Yonhap)

Vice foreign ministers of South Korea and Laos held talks Monday in Seoul to discuss the strengthening of cooperation in tackling online scams and in other future-oriented areas, according to officials.

During his talks with his Lao counterpart, Phongsamouth Anlavan, First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo emphasized the need for closer regional law-enforcement cooperation, calling for active collaboration with Laos in strengthening investigative assistance involving online scams.

Anlavan said the Lao government also attaches great importance to the issue and expressed hopes for deeper coordination with South Korea.

The vice ministers agreed to expand cooperation in future-oriented sectors as well, including critical minerals and the green economy.

Park expressed hopes that the two countries will make tangible progress in these areas, while Anlavan expressed hopes to elevate bilateral ties and energize high-level exchanges as the two countries mark the 30th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic relations.

Earlier in the day, the Seoul foreign ministry hosted the South Korea-Laos Future Forum in Seoul to commemorate the anniversary of diplomatic ties.

South Korea and Laos first established diplomatic relations in 1974, but ties were severed the following year after a communist takeover in Laos. The two countries restored relations in 1995. (Yonhap)