The defense ministry will hold a conference in Canberra this week to discuss ways to bolster bilateral defense and arms industry cooperation, officials said Tuesday, as Seoul seeks to clinch major arms contracts. The conference, scheduled for Thursday, will bring together officials from the government, industry and academia from both countries and showcase key products of major South Korean arms companies, such as HD Hyundai Heavy Industries, Hanwha Systems and Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd. (KAI), according to the ministry. The upcoming event, the first such overseas conference to be held by the defense ministry, was organized to strengthen cooperation with value-sharing countries in an increasingly new and complex security environment, it added. Vice Defense Minister Kim Seon-ho will make a three-day visit to Australia on Wednesday to attend the conference and hold talks with senior defense and government officials, the ministry said. In May, South Korea and Australia held a "two plus two" meeting amo ng their foreign and defense chiefs. Source: Yonhap News Agency