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| ▲ Lt. Gen. Lee Young-su (2nd from L), head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff's (JCS) Chief Directorate of Strategic Planning, speaks with Maj. Gen. Hamed Rafea A. AlAmri (R), chief of staff of Saudi Arabia's General Staff, at the JCS headquarters in Seoul on June 13, 2023, in this photo released by the JCS. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
S Korea-Saudi Arabia-military talks
S. Korea, Saudi Arabia hold talks on military cooperation
SEOUL, June 13 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Saudi Arabia held talks on military cooperation this week for the first time in four years, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday, as they seek to strengthen defense ties.
Lt. Gen. Lee Young-su, head of the JCS' Chief Directorate of Strategic Planning, and Maj. Gen. Hamed Rafea A. AlAmri, chief of staff of Saudi Arabia's General Staff, led the ROK-Saudi Arabia Military Cooperation Committee meeting in Seoul on Monday and Tuesday, according to the JCS.
ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
It marked the second committee meeting since the inaugural session in Saudi Arabia in 2019. The two sides had agreed to convene the committee annually, but it did not take place from 2020 to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
During this week's talks, the two sides discussed cooperation in the arms industry, education and training, as well as the revitalization of military exchanges, while sharing assessments on regional security situations, it said.
On Monday, the Saudi Arabian delegation visited the Air Force's Air Defense Missile Command at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, 60 kilometers south of Seoul, and the unit's midrange surface-to-air missile (M-SAM) battery to observe South Korean troops' readiness posture, it added.
"This visit was a meaningful time to understand the gravity of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and enhance bilateral military and defense cooperation," Maj. Gen. AlAmri was quoted as saying.
The meeting comes after the defense chiefs of South Korea and Saudi Arabia met for talks in Seoul in March and agreed to establish a regular ministerial-level dialogue on arms industry cooperation.
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