Army Chief Manoj Pande visits demilitarised zone during South Korea visit

General Manoj Pande was briefed about security aspects in the highly sensitive zone

Army Chief General Manoj Pande briefed by South Korean officers during his four-day bilateral visit to South Korea.

As part of the ongoing four-day bilateral visit to South Korea, Army Chief General Manoj Pande was on November 23 briefed at the joint security area and demilitarised zone about security aspects in the highly sensitive zone, the Army said.

“Army Chief also visited the cyber command, where he was briefed on effective response to the increasingly advanced & sophisticated cyber threats,” the Army said on social media platform X (formerly Twitter). He also visited military establishments and interacted with the senior military leadership of the Republic of Korea, it added.

General Pande also visited a drone combat unit and was briefed on the border management and surveillance facility, an Army source said.

During the visit, General Pande interacted with the country’s Vice-Minister of Defence Acquisition Programme Administration; Chairman, Joint Chief of Staff of South Korea; and with his counterpart General Park An-su. “Aspects related to further strengthening of military ties and bilateral defence cooperation were discussed during the significant interaction,” the Army said on this.

He also visited defence establishments and technology labs, including Agency of Defence Development (ADD) where he was briefed on ongoing research and development (R&D) and latest developments in the fields of Artificial Intelligence, autonomous vehicles, man-unmanned teaming, and robotics.

Earlier, the Indian Army Chief paid tributes and laid a wreath at the war memorial and was presented a Guard of Honour.

India and South Korea upgraded the bilateral relationship to a special strategic partnership after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit in 2015. 

General Pande’s visit commenced on November 20, a momentous day in the history of India-South Korea relations. Seventy-three years back, in 1950, the 60 Para Field Ambulance unit of Indian Army landed in Busan to provide much-needed medical support during the Korean War.

Apart from 60 Para Field Ambulance, Indian Army had provided a brigade-size force to function under the United Nations in the Korean War. The force was named ‘Custodian Force’ and operated under the Neutral Nations Repatriation Committee.