S. Korea, Finland defense chiefs to hold talks on ties, deals

The defense chiefs of South Korea and Finland held talks in Seoul on Thursday to enhance bilateral defense relations, military officials said.

Defense Minister Han Min-koo and his Finnish counterpart Jussi Niinistö discussed measures to promote military exchanges and defense industry cooperation, the defense ministry said in a statement.

"He asked Finland to join the international community's efforts to put pressure on the North through sanctions and other means," a ministry spokesman said.

Finland had announced statements criticizing North Korea's fourth and fifth nuclear tests in January and September and a series of missile launches last year.

It was the first defense chiefs' meeting between Seoul and Helsinki since July 1994.

Separately, the Finnish minister plans to sign a deal with the state defense acquisition agency later in the day to purchase 48 K-9 self-propelled howitzers for 191.5 billion won ($168 million). The delivery is scheduled to be completed by 2025, it said.

"The 48 K-9s have been used by the South Korean Army for 10 years and now will be shipped to the Finnish military. They will undergo a full-scale upgrade work in Finland before deployment," an official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said.

Finland is the third country to purchase the Korean-made K-9s after Turkey and Poland, the statement said. (Yonhap)