Top general visits UAE, Oman for talks on bilateral cooperation

Defense 15:39 May 15, 2023

SEOUL, May 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top general has visited the United Arab Emirates and Oman for talks on bilateral cooperation, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Monday.

JCS Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum embarked on the five-day trip last Thursday and met with Ahmed bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, deputy chief of staff of the UAE's Armed Forces, to thank the country for its support in an operation to evacuate 28 South Koreans from Sudan, according to the JCS.

Late last month, the South Koreans left the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, where fierce fighting had been taking place between rival forces, in a UAE-led convoy before being transported back home by a South Korean military aircraft.

During their meeting, the two sides also discussed ways to strengthen the two countries' "special strategic partnership" forged in 2018 and bolster arms industry cooperation, the JCS said.

Kim visited South Korea's Akh unit stationed in the country to be briefed on its operations and encourage its troops.

He also visited Oman for talks with Mohammed bin Nasser bin Ali Al Zaabi, secretary general of Oman's defense ministry, and Abdullah Bin Khamis Al-Raisi, chief of staff of the Omani Armed Forces, on ways to expand military cooperation.

In Oman, Kim met with troops of the Navy's Cheonghae anti-piracy unit docked in the country and encouraged them over their operational posture during last month's rescue efforts, according to the JCS.

At the time, the unit was dispatched to waters off Sudan to provide support.