Army chiefs of Korea, Poland agree to deepen military ties

Army Chief of Staff Gen. Kim Gyu-ha met with top military officials of the Polish Army and discussed ways to expand high-level exchanges and defense industry cooperation, the Korean Army said Wednesday.

During a three-day trip to Poland from Sunday, Kim met separately with Gen. Wieslaw Kukula, chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces and Lt. Gen. Marek Sokolowski, the Polish Army's general commander.

Kim and Kukula agreed to establish a regular bilateral consultative body between the armies and to expand high-level exchanges and combined drills, the Korean Army said.

They also discussed ways to boost cooperation in the defense industry, including the maintenance, repair and overhaul sector.

Kim expressed hope that the two countries will further strengthen mutual trust based on their defense industry cooperation, stressing the need to broaden military ties by fostering active communication to ensure the stable operation of weapons systems, as well as in military education and training.

Poland is a major European buyer of Korean land and artillery systems, including the K2 main battle tanks, the K9 self-propelled howitzers and the Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers.

Yonhap