A senior Saudi Arabian defense official will visit South Korea this week to examine key homegrown weapons systems, sources said Wednesday, amid growing bilateral defense industry cooperation. Talal bin Abdullah Al-Otaibi, Saudi Arabia's assistant minister of defense, was set to arrive in South Korea on Wednesday for a three-day visit, according to the sources from the defense industry and relevant authorities. During the trip, the official is expected to be given a tour of major South Korean defense products, including the KF-21 fighter jet under development, the mid-range surface-to-air missile block II (M-SAM II) system and the 3,000-ton Dosan Ahn Changho submarine. The visit comes after South Korean defense company LIG Nex1 signed a US$3.2 billion deal to supply 10 M-SAM II batteries to Saudi Arabia last November. Last month, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik visited the kingdom for talks on defense industry cooperation and explained Seoul's plans for a next-generation fighter jet in response to Saudi Ara bia's interest in such efforts. South Korea is currently developing the KF-21 without the stealth capabilities of a fifth-generation fighter jet, such as the F-35A, although there are further upgrades in mind to ultimately build a sixth-generation fighter with advanced capabilities. Source: Yonhap News Agency
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