Kang Hoon-sik, presidential chief of staff, speaks at a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on Nov. 3. (Yonhap)
Kang Hoon-sik, presidential chief of staff, speaks at a press briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on Nov. 3. (Yonhap)

Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik is scheduled to visit the United Arab Emirates to discuss cooperation with South Korea in the field of defense later this week, according to the presidential office Monday.

Kang will meet with high-ranking UAE officials, the presidential office said, but the itinerary of his trip has yet to be disclosed.

Kang previously traveled to Poland, Romania and Norway in October, as South Korea's defense industry seeks more contracts abroad in line with President Lee Jae Myung's bid to boost defense exports. The UAE has also been one of the prominent buyers of South Korean defense equipment, including the Cheongung-II air defense system.

Lee, on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meetings, held talks with the UAE's crown prince Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Oct. 31. One of the discussion points during their talks was defense cooperation, Lee's spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said then.


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