Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup, right, and his Australian counterpart Richard Marles shake hands during the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, in this June 12 file photo. Newsis

By Jung Min-ho

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup departed for Canberra, Tuesday, for talks with his Australian counterpart Richard Marles on arms industry cooperation and regional security.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the two are scheduled to meet in the capital Thursday, in the first official talks between the nations' defense chiefs since the Australian Labor Party took power in May.

Minister Lee's five-day visit there comes at a time when the Redback, an infantry fighting vehicle developed and manufactured by Korean arms maker Hanwha Defense, is competing for the Australian Army's high-profile procurement project known as Land 400 Phase 3.

Invited by Marles, Lee plans to visit Geelong, Victoria, where the company is constructing its first overseas factory for the production of K9 self-propelled howitzers. In December 2021, the country signed a contract to purchase 30 units of the howitzers among other weapons.

"During the visit there, they (the two ministers) plan to reaffirm the two nations' will for bilateral arms industry cooperation," the ministry said in a statement.

The Redback infantry fighting vehicle / Courtesy of Hanwha Defense

Named after a highly venomous Australian spider, the armored vehicle project was initiated specifically for Australia's arms procurement market. From the beginning of development, many of the Australian Army's needs and demands were reflected, a Hanwha Defense official told The Korea Times. The Australian government is expected to announce the winner of the bid soon.

Lee is also expected to visit the Australian National Korean War Memorial on Anzac Parade to pay his respects to the Australian soldiers who fought for the freedom and democracy of South Korea during the Korean War (1950-53). Australia was one of the first countries that sent military forces to South Korea's aid ― within just a week ― following the outbreak of the conflict, in which more than 17,100 Australian soldiers served, according to the National Archives of Korea. The number was the fourth largest, only after the United States, Britain and Canada.

Another of his destinations will be the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an influential policy think tank for defense and security issues. At a time when Korea, under President Yoon Suk-yeol, is formulating its own diplomatic and security strategy for the Indo-Pacific region, Lee is expected to discuss pressing topics, including Beijing's growing influence in the region and North Korea's nuclear threat, with Marles and other experts in Australia.

They may also discuss conducting more effective multilateral military drills involving the two countries, a ministry official told reporters.

Australia is a member of AUKUS, a trilateral security agreement with the United States and Britain. The pact, which was announced a year ago, drew China's bitter reaction as the deal was viewed as a challenge to Beijing's moves to build maritime power in the Pacific.

Following Yoon's meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden in May, Korea has also been seeking to participate in the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), a strategy through which the world's leading superpower aims to counter China's influence in the region.

The Lee-Marles talks will mark their second in-person meeting in their current capacities following their informal introductions at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore in June.