Parliamentary speaker Cho discusses energy, defense cooperation with Croatian president

SEOUL, Oct. 10 (Yonhap) -- National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik has held a series of meetings with Croatian President Zoran Milanovic, Parliament Speaker Gordan Jandrokovic and Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic to seek energy and defense cooperation between the two nations, his office said Saturday.

In a meeting with the Croatian president in Zagreb on Friday (local time), Cho said the two countries have been maintaining friendly, cooperative relations since establishing diplomatic ties in 1992, which were upgraded to a comprehensive, future-oriented partnership in 2023.

Cho has been on a four-nation trip to Italy, Vatican City, Croatia and Greece over nine days.

In a separate meeting with the Croatian prime minister, Cho also said the two countries should solidify their ties in the economy, culture, defense and energy sectors, highlighting a recent arms supply deal.

Last month, South Korean defense firm Hanwha Aerospace signed a deal to export 18 Chunmoo multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) to Croatia in an arms contract worth some 640 billion won (US$477 million), marking the first major arms deal between the two countries, opening up avenues for greater partnership beyond arms exports, such as industrial cooperation and military logistics support.

Croatia has become the fourth European country to acquire the Chunmoo system, following Poland, Estonia and Norway.

It has an operational range of up to 80 kilometers, capable of executing both targeted precision strikes and cluster attacks to wipe out enemy targets over a wide area.