S. Korea, Singapore agree on sharing military supplies

SEOUL, Dec. 21 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Singapore have agreed to share military supplies in peacekeeping and rescue operations, the defense ministry here said Wednesday. South Korean Army Maj. Gen. Jeon Dong-woon, head of the defense ministry's logistics management bureau, and Army Col. Sheau Kai Lam, chief supply officer at Singapore's defense ministry, on Wednesday signed the memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the bilateral logistics cooperation. Under the agreement, the two countries will share military supplies as necessary during their joint exercises, U.N. peacekeeping operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts, the ministry here said. "The need for inter-state logistics support and cooperation is rising amid growing activities of U.N. peacekeepers and frequent natural disasters," the ministry said in a statement. "We expect this MOU with Singapore to help promote logistics cooperation between the two countries and also contribute to global peace and humanitarian assistance." On Dec. 7, South Korea also signed a similar agreement with Indonesia. Seoul currently has logistics agreements with eight other nations -- the U.S., Thailand, New Zealand, Turkey, the Philippines, Israel, Australia and Canada. (END)