Seoul’s defense chief to head to Middle East in first overseas trip

Shin Won-sik, the South Korean Minister of National Defense, on Thursday embarked on a trip to three Middle Eastern countries of the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

He will begin the trip with a meeting with his UAE counterpart, Mohamed Mubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei on Friday. He will also visit the Akh unit, one of whose chief aims is to protect Korean nationals in the region in contingencies.

He will then travel to Saudi Arabia on Saturday to attend the second World Defense Show in its capital, Riyadh. The WDS is a biennial defense exhibition hosted by Saudi Arabia.

He will be in Qatar on Monday and Tuesday to meet with Khalid bin Mohammad Al Attiyah, the Qatari Minister of State for Defence Affairs.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said in a release the trip is about “boosting cooperation of defense industries” with the three countries.

This is his first international trip since taking office in October.