Vice foreign ministers of South Korea and Spain held talks in Seoul on Thursday and discussed advancing bilateral relations.

In opening remarks at the inaugural Korea-Spain "strategic dialogue," Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun said he was pleased to have this meeting at an important time.

His Spanish counterpart Fernando Valenzuela expressed hope the talks will be an opportunity to discover new areas of cooperation. 

This was the first official meeting between the countries since Seoul and Madrid agreed to elevate their policy consultation channel to an upgraded strategic dialogue in 2016.

Though not included in the formal agenda, the recent raid on North Korea's embassy in Spain by a group of anti-Pyongyang activists may have also been discussed. 

Spanish media suggests that a South Korean national was among the embassy intruders.