South Korea and Turkey held annual high-level military talks in Ankara earlier this week to discuss bilateral defense cooperation, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday.
JCS Vice Chairman Lt. Gen. Park Woong and Gen. Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, the deputy chief of the Turkish General Staff, represented each side at the 14th edition of the talks on Wednesday.
The two sides discussed ways to reinforce military cooperation, such as signing a military information sharing pact, bolstering arms industry cooperation and expanding their troops' participation in multinational drills.
They noted their relationship has been deepening based on mutual trust anchored in their "strategic partnership" forged in 2012. They also agreed to hold the 15th edition of the talks in Seoul next year.
During his trip, Park met with Turkey's top military officer, Gen. Yasar Guler, and offered words of solace over a devastating earthquake that hit the country last month.
Guler thanked Park for Seoul's assistance with the recovery efforts, noting that it demonstrated the "deep trust" between the two countries, according to the JCS.
South Korea sent more than 100 rescue and relief workers to Turkey following the quake
Source: Yonhap News Agency