A senior Iraqi Army general visited a South Korean defense company and met with the defense minister during his recent trip to South Korea.

According to sources from the South Korean authorities and defense industry on Wednesday, a group of senior Iraqi military officials led by Samir Zaki Hussein Al-Maliki, commander of Iraq's Army Aviation Command, made a four-day visit to South Korea starting last Monday.

During the rare trip, the Iraqi officials met with South Korean military and defense industry officials. 
 
The Iraqi commander reportedly visited the headquarters of Korea Aerospace Industries(KAI) in the southeastern city of Sacheon, observed operations of the company’s KUH-1, a midsize variant of the Surion helicopter, and boarded it. 

The Surion is the country’s first homegrown multirole utility helicopter developed by KAI and the Agency for Defense Development, and they have been deployed for use in the Army as utility and transport helicopters since 2012. 

The Iraqi general reportedly also met with defense minister Shin Won-sik and visited other major defense companies. In 2013, Iraq signed a deal with KAI to purchase 24 FA-50 light combat aircraft.