Arms agency chief visits Saudi Arabia, Romania for talks on defense cooperation

▲ Seok Jong-gun (5th from L), the Defense Acquisition Program Administration minister, holds talks with Saudi officials during his visit to the Middle East country from May 19 to 21, 2024, in this undated photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ Seok Jong-gun (L), the Defense Acquisition Program Administration minister, shakes hands with Romanian Defense Minister Angel Tilvar during his visit to the country from May 21 to 25, 2024, in this undated photo provided by his office. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

arms agency-Saudi Arabia-Romania

Arms agency chief visits Saudi Arabia, Romania for talks on defense cooperation

SEOUL, May 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's arms procurement agency chief has visited Saudi Arabia and Romania for talks on expanding defense industry cooperation, his office said Friday, amid Seoul's push to clinch more arms export deals.

Seok Jong-gun, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) minister, first left for Saudi Arabia on Sunday after South Korean defense company LIG Nex1 won a US$3.2 billion contract to supply the Mid-range Surface-to-Air Missile Block-II system to Riyadh last November.

During the three-day visit, Seok held talks with officials from the Saudi Ministry of National Guard and discussed ways for Seoul's participation in its large-scale project to strengthen ground forces, according to DAPA.

In February, the Saudi ministry signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean defense company Hanwha Aerospace for cooperation in the project.

He also attended a workshop on Riyadh's efforts to acquire key weapons systems, and the participants agreed to hold working-level talks on ways for the Saudi military to utilize South Korean ground, maritime and aerospace weapons systems, DAPA said.

Seok also visited Saudi Arabia's General Authority for Military Industries and General Authority for Defense Development and agreed for the agencies to push to sign a memorandum of understanding for cooperation with Seoul's Agency for Defense Development and Defense Agency for Technology and Quality.

Last October, President Yoon Suk Yeol met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a state visit to Riyadh, where they agreed to deepen the strategic partnership between their countries.

On Tuesday, Seok began a five-day trip to Romania to discuss possible exports of South Korean weapons systems, including K9 self-propelled howitzers and K2 main battle tanks, according to DAPA.

Seok visited the Black Sea Defense, Aerospace and Security International Exhibition in Bucharest to hold talks with Defense Minister Angel Tilvar, Economy Minister Stefan-Radu Oprea and other senior government officials, as well as lawmakers to discuss arms industry cooperation.

Last month, Yoon and Romanian President Klaus Iohannis agreed to boost defense cooperation during their summit in Seoul. Romania placed an order for LIG Nex1's Chiron surface-to-air missiles last November.

(END)

<저작권자(c) 연합뉴스, 무단 전재-재배포, AI 학습 및 활용 금지>

(C) Yonhap News Agency. All Rights Reserved