Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin and his Swedish counterpart Sten Tolgfors agreed Tuesday in Seoul to hold annual meetings of their mid-level officials.

The South Korean Defense Ministry said that the first of the meetings will be held during the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition 2011 in October. According to the ministry, the two sides will discuss specific ways to promote their defense industry collaboration.

South Korea and Sweden agreed to sign this fall a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the cooperation to that end.

Sweden was the first country to send a medical support team during the Korean War and dispatched its troops to the Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission, which is present at the Demilitarized Zone dividing the two Koreas. When the South Korean “Cheonan” naval vessel sank, Sweden dispatched four experts as part of the multinational probe that concluded North Korea as being responsible for the sinking.