Seoul:South Korea and India began bilateral talks here today (Mar 21, 2007) on cooperation in weapons sales, particularly in shipbuilding.

Led by India's Secretary for Defence Production K P Singh and South Korea's Commissioner of the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Lee Sun-hi, the talks are a follow-up of a memorandum of understanding on defence acquisition cooperation signed in September 2005, the WAM news agency reported.

"The two sides will discuss ways to cooperate on the development and export of 5,000-ton frigates, armoured vehicles, military trucks, K-9 howitzers and so on," a DAPA spokesman said on condition of anonymity.

The two countries will also address issues regarding cooperation on procurement systems and defence technology, particularly in Korean expertise in shipbuilding.

Currently, South Korea and India are conducting joint research on K-9 self-propelled artillery and mine countermeasure vessels.

Seoul holds arms sale meetings with 24 countries around the world annually.

"Korea-India cooperation will bring a synergy effect, because because Seoul sees India as a strong trading partner for arms sales, and India has also shown keen interest in our country's high-end defence technologies such as shipbuilding," said the spokesman.