President Lee Jae Myung (left) takes part in a joint press conference with European Council President Antonio Costa (second from left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Council of the European Union on Wednesday. (Yonhap) South Korea and the European Union are to seek deeper economic ties and implement measures that will facilitate closer cooperation in areas including trade and information sharing.The developments came as President Lee Jae Myung wrapped up his trip to Brusselsss on Wednesday, as he held talks with leaders of the European Union's leading figures, European Council President Antonio Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.Lee became the first president to have visited Brussels to meet EU leaders since former President Moon Jae-in eight years ago.During the meeting at the Council of the European Union, Lee hailed the agreement to facilitate the exchange of classified information through a new pact between South Korea and the EU.Negotiations on the Security of Information Agreement between South Korea and the EU will "enable us to securely share classified information and to actively pursue industrial and research cooperation," Lee said during a joint press conference in Brussels.Moreover, the Digital Trade Agreement was also signed between South Korea and its third-largest trading partner after China and the USto further strengthen the bilateral economic partnership.The new agreement to streamline administrative procedures through paperless trade, and electronic authentication will "help create a stable and predictable environment for data-driven business and promote the continued growth of digital trade between us," Lee said.In an X post, Lee said these agreements would "serve as important building blocks" for expanding Korea–EU cooperation in security and defense cooperation and trade and the digital economy. President Lee Jae Myung (left) takes part in a joint press conference with European Council President Antonio Costa (second from left) and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the Council of the European Union on Wednesday. (Yonhap) Separately, South Korea and the EU have concluded the Agreement on the Transfer of Passenger Name Record Data for the Prevention, Detection, Investigation and Prosecution of Terrorist Offences and Serious Crime. Lee said the pact would allow South Korean customs authorities to obtain passenger name record data from EU-registered airlines, which would help them tackle the rise in the smuggling of narcotics, firearms and other dangerous items.A joint statement between South Korea and the EU also indicated that the two are set to launch a High-Level Economic Dialogue to deepen our cooperation on economic security, trade and industrial policy, as well as a high-level energy dialogue to coordinate efforts on energy security, energy systems and the energy transition.Furthermore, the leaders called for deescalation and restraint, ensuring freedom of navigation and safe transit passage in the Strait of Hormuz the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure over recent developments in the Middle East, urging dialogue and diplomacy to resolve tensions.