Air Force Chief of Staff Son Seok-rak will hold bilateral talks with air force commanders from nine countries, including the United States and Japan, who are attending the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX), starting on the 20th, the Air Force said on the 20th.
According to the Air Force, starting today Son will meet separately with Ricky Mills, U.S. Air Force deputy assistant secretary for international affairs, who is attending in place of the U.S. Air Force chief of staff, and Morita Takehiro, Japan Air Self-Defense Force chief of staff, to discuss military exchanges and cooperation. It is the first time in 10 years, since the 2015 Seoul ADEX, that Japan's air chief has visited Korea and a South Korea-Japan air chiefs' meeting has been held.
Son will then discuss flight training and follow-on logistics support in bilateral meetings with the air chiefs of Malaysia, which has introduced Korea's FA-50 light attack aircraft, and Poland. In bilateral meetings with the air chiefs of Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), he plans to discuss cooperation and support by the South Korean Air Force related to the domestically developed KF-21 supersonic fighter.
On the same day, Son will sign an operating arrangement for the Space Engagement Talks (SET) in a meeting with Royal Canadian Air Force Commander Jamie Spieser-Blanchet. Based on this, the two air forces will hold the first Space Engagement Talks on the 24th and discuss cooperation in space operations, exchanges and training of space personnel, and sharing of space policy information.