Defence Secretary visits South Korea
The Defence Secretary met with his South Korean Counterpart and paid tribute to the sacrifices made by British Servicemen in the Korean war
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has made his first official visit to the country where he met with the South Korean Minister of National Defence Han Minkoo and discussed international and regional security. Their meeting provided an opportunity to explore how the UK and South Korea can build on existing cooperation on issues such as Ebola and global stabilisation and counter-piracy operations.
The Defence Secretary also visited the National War Memorial where he laid a wreath to mark the contribution of British servicemen during the Korean War. The UK was the second largest overseas contributor of troops and 1,078 UK personnel lost their lives during the three-year conflict. In December the Mr Fallon attended the unveiling ceremony of a new memorial to the Korean War at the Ministry of Defence in London.
Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said:
I’m delighted to be renewing my links with South Korea. I know well our countries’ common interests and values, thanks to my previous Business responsibilities.
My visit today as Defence Secretary is an excellent opportunity to strengthen further our close military ties, building on our cooperation in tackling the Ebola outbreak in Sierra Leone and on South Korea’s valuable contributions in other areas, including South Sudan and maritime security in the Indian Ocean. I look forward to doing so. During my visit I will also pay tribute to the British servicemen who lost their lives in the Korean War.