Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

[MND] Korea-Laos make official agreement on the establishment of the attaché

Vice Defense Minister Hwang Inmoo made an official visit to Laos on June 30, local time, to hold a conference with the Laotian Vice Defense Minister, at which a letter of intent was signed for the establishment of a mutual attaché between the two defense ministries. Vice Minister Hwang is one of a few top-level figures from the MND to ever visit Laos.

He discussed with the Vice Defense Minister of Laos, Onsi Sensuk, about plans to promote cooperation between the two countries in the area of national defense.

For these plans, they agreed to invigorate cooperations across a wide range of areas, as well as to build institutional bases for full-scale military cooperation, such as ▲the conclusion of an MOU on national defense cooperation, ▲the establishment of a regular consultative body, ▲the establishment of a mutual attaché, ▲reciprocal visits between high-ranking military officers, ▲an exchange in military education, and ▲humanitarian cooperation, including the removal of mines, unexploded bombs, etc.

Given that both countries officially agreed on the establishment of an attaché, the Korean government will start to open the attaché in Laos some time next year. This makes it the 10th of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries country where we have dispatched an attaché, and is expected to result in closer cooperation between our nations in areas of national defense. This establishment of the mutual attaché has been discussed in a number of meetings held between national defense authorities, including summit meetings held in 2013 and 2014; this time, a final agreement was made.

At the conference, Laos pledged support for our peace, stability, and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. The nation took a necessary step to complete the UN Security Council’s sanctions, and the authorities expressed their will to adjust their relationship with North Korea in accordance with the resolution.

In addition, Mr. Hwang visited the Laos National Defense University, where he took a tour of the military education field. He also made an official call to the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Saleumxay Kommasith, to ask him to play an active role, as a chair of ASEAN, in cooperative efforts between the international community and North Korea.

An MND official said, “This visit to Laos weakened North Korea’s diplomatic position internationally, as we made an agreement to take steps to completely implement the UN Security Council’s sanctions with Laos, which has friendly relations with North Korea.”

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >
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