S. Korea, Columbia to sign pact on military secrets this week

SEOUL, May 31 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Columbia will sign a pact on the protection of military secrets this week as the two sides move to deepen military ties, Seoul's defense ministry said Tuesday. The pact will be signed on Wednesday by South Korean Vice Defense Minister Lee Yong-gul and his Columbian counterpart, Yaneth Giha Tovar, who is set to arrive in Seoul for a four-day visit, the ministry said in a statement. "The visit by the Columbian vice defense minister will serve as a chance to further promote defense cooperation between the two nations," said a ministry official. Columbia is benchmarking South Korea's arms procurement agency, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, to modernize its weapons purchases, ministry officials said. During the visit, the Columbian vice defense minister plans to make a keynote speech on Thursday at a forum on defense procurement to be held at the southern island of Jeju. The ministry said it will also send three taekwondo instructors to Columbia next month to train cadets at a military academy there.