South Korean police have agreed with their Russian counterparts to cooperate in keeping order and protecting athletes and tourists during this year's FIFA World Cup in Russia, police said Wednesday, Yonhap reported.
Lee Cheol-seong, head of the Korean National Police Agency, and Russian Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev held talks in Moscow the previous day, signing a pact on an international police cooperation center that Russia plan to set up to work together with international police forces in the run-up to the 2018 World Cup in the country.
Under the pact, South Korean and Russian police will work together in protecting South Korean residents and tourists and maintaining order during the sports event.
The Russian Interior Ministry has been forming similar deals with all the countries whose national teams will compete during the World Cup so that Russian police can cooperate with international police forces at the center in Domodedovo outside Moscow.
The Korean National Police Agency will dispatch four police officers to Russia, who will work with Russian police officers to tackle security-related issues during the World Cup, scheduled to run June 14 through July 15.
Lee also met with Andrei Ponorets, deputy chief of the Russian Interior Ministry's Main Directorate for Moscow, seeking the Russian side's support in preventing South Korean residents and tourists from being victimized by crimes and making a faster response to them.
He plans to hold talks with German and Italian police chiefs separately until Friday to discuss ways to cooperate in making joint efforts to fight against terrorism and international crimes.