Defense officials look at a drone at Defense Expo Korea 2022 in Goyang, just west of Seoul, Sept. 21. Yonhap

An international defense exhibition opened in a city just northwest of Seoul on Wednesday to showcase cutting-edge military hardware and technologies, including drones and robots, organizers said.

The biennial Defense Expo Korea, or DX Korea 2022, began its five-day run at the KINTEX exhibition center in Goyang. It is co-hosted by the Association of the Republic of Korea Army, the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency and other organizations.

It has brought together some 350 defense companies from 43 countries, which have set up around 1,300 booths to promote their products at both indoor and outdoor KINTEX facilities.

The event is designed to help strengthen the competitiveness of local defense firms, support the expansion of their exports, bolster exchanges among local and foreign enterprises and highlight the country's defense capabilities to people at home and abroad, organizers said.

It puts on display ground and naval weapons systems, electronic warfare equipment, protective gear, logistical supplies and robots for surveillance, explosive ordinance disposal and other operations among other things.

The event is sponsored by the ministries of defense and industry, the Army, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the Agency for Defense Development, the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality and the Korea Defense Industry Association. (Yonhap)