The commander of the Canadian Army, Lieutenant General Michael Wright, salutes during an event marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gapyeong at the Commonwealth Memorial in Gapyeong, about 55 km northeast of Seoul, on Friday, April 24, 2026.
GAPYEONG, April 27 (Yonhap) — The partnership between South Korea and Canada, forged on the battlefields of the Korean War (1950-1953), has persisted for several decades and is even strengthening amidst deepening military cooperation, said Canadian Army commander Lieutenant General Michael Wright in an interview with Yonhap news agency last Friday.
He came to South Korea to attend a ceremony commemorating the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gapyeong, a major turning point in the Korean War. Over 2,000 soldiers from the 27th Commonwealth Brigade of the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand fought fiercely against Chinese forces in April 1951, at the peak of the three-year conflict.
“For Canada, this reaffirms our partnership that began on the battlefields in Korea in 1950 and continues to this day, even growing stronger,” Wright said in response to a question about the significance of the 75th anniversary of this battle.
“I truly believe that the history we share is an indicator of what we will do together in the future,” he added.
As the anniversary approaches, soldiers from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, a military unit that also participated in this battle, have arrived in South Korea to conduct their first joint military exercises with the South Korean Army.
More than 26,000 Canadian soldiers participated in the Korean War, with 516 killed and 1,200 others wounded, according to the United Nations Command (UNC).
South Korea and Canada are seeking to enhance cooperation in defense, as President Lee Jae Myung and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney agreed at their summit in Gyeongju last year to deepen their strategic partnership in defense, security, and military intelligence sharing.
Wright reiterated that Canada is in talks with the South Korean defense industry as part of an Ottawa project to modernize its army.
“The Canadian Army is in the midst of our largest equipment modernization in over 25 years, and we are looking at what we can do under our defense industrial strategy to quickly accelerate the deployment of new equipment within the Canadian Army,” he said.
Regarding potential areas of cooperation, Wright mentioned, “The K9 howitzers are something Hanwha has talked to us about. The Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicle is another example.”
Hanwha Aerospace previously announced a comprehensive solution including their self-propelled howitzers K9, the Chunmoo multiple rocket launch system, and the Redback Infantry Fighting Vehicles to compete for public tenders in Canada’s Army modernization project.
The Canadian Army commander expressed optimism about the future of military cooperation between Seoul and Ottawa. “I believe the future military cooperation is much stronger,” he said, noting that the recent series of high-level visits between the two countries demonstrates the increasing bilateral cooperation in what he describes as a “fragmented” world.
Former Commonwealth countries’ veterans lay wreaths at an event marking the 75th anniversary of the Battle of Gapyeong at the Commonwealth Memorial in Gapyeong, about 55 km northeast of Seoul, on Friday, April 24, 2026.
lsr@yna.co.kr
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