KAMPALA, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- Military experts from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) completed this week their withdrawal from Uganda where they have been training troops.
Brig. Richard Karemire, Uganda military spokesman told Xinhua on Friday that the experts left after Uganda broke its cooperation with DPRK over the latter's failure to respect UN resolutions. DPRK has been facing UN sanctions over its continued nuclear activities.
The DPRK detonated a hydrogen bomb capable of being carried by an intercontinental ballistic missile on Sunday which was its sixth and most powerful nuclear test, sparking condemnation from the international community.
The last batch of 19 military experts were based at the Uganda Air Force Aviation Academy in the central district of Nakasongola and Uganda Air Force Secondary School, Entebbe, about 40 kilometers south of the capital, Kampala.
"We definitely commend them for the job they did while here. They have imparted knowledge on our experts and we are able to take it from there on our own," said Karemire.
He said the experts have been offering training in martial arts, acrobatics and building the capacity of the country's air force.
Uganda in May last year announced that it was breaking military cooperation with DPRK over its nuclear proliferation.
The African country, however, said it supports nuclear energy production for peaceful purposes like medicine and energy.
Meanwhile South Korea welcomes Uganda's move to end military cooperation with DPRK, according to a statement issued here on Friday after a meeting between Uganda's Minister of State for Defense Engola Okello and his South Korean counterpart, Suu Choo-Suk, in Seoul.
The two ministers said the military cooperation between Uganda and South Korea was on course.
During the meeting, Okello said tensions on the Korean Peninsula should be dealt with through diplomatic efforts, noting that proliferation of nuclear weapons was a threat to world peace.
