Lt. Gen. Michael Wright, the commander of the Canadian Army, salutes the United Nations Command Honor Guard during an event marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gapyeong at the Commonwealth Memorial in Gapyeong, about 55 kilometers northeast of Seoul, Friday. Yonhap

GAPYEONG — Partnership between South Korea and Canada, forged on battlefields of the 1950-53 Korean War, has endured for decades and is growing even "stronger" amid deepening military cooperation, the commander of the Canadian Army has said.

Lt. Gen. Michael Wright, commander of the Canadian Army, made the remarks in an interview with Yonhap News Agency on Friday, as he was visiting South Korea to attend a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of a key Korean War battle in the northern county of Gapyeong.

Some 2,000 troops of the 27th Commonwealth Brigade, comprising soldiers of Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, engaged in three days of fierce combat against Chinese forces in April 1951 at the height of the three-year war.

"For Canada, it's a reaffirmation of our partnership that started on the battlefields in Korea in 1950 and endures to this day and, if anything, is getting stronger," Wright said when asked about the significance of the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gapyeong.

"So I really think that the history that we share is an indicator of what we'll do together in the future," he said.

Ahead of the anniversary, troops from the Canadian Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, an army unit that fought at the battle in Gapyeong, arrived in South Korea for their first high-tech military drills with the South's Army.

Over 26,000 Canadians participated in the Korean War, with 516 killed and approximately 1,200 wounded, according to the U.N. Command (UNC).

South Korea and Canada are seeking to bolster defense cooperation as President Lee Jae Myung and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed to deepen their strategic partnership in defense, security and military intelligence sharing during summit talks in Gyeongju last year.

Wright said Canada has been in discussions with South Korea's defense industry over Ottawa's project to modernize the army.

Source: Korea Times News