This year's event, which gathers some 550 companies from 34 countries and government delegations from 57 countries, is being held as global tensions are spiking due to the Israel-Hamas conflict, which comes on top of intense fighting between Russia and Ukraine. There are also long-simmering tensions in East Asia surrounding the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan.
Numerous corporate executives, high-ranking government and military officials flocked to the airfield in the Seoul suburb of Seongnam to see the latest technologies and weapons in the aerospace and defense industry on display at the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition. The country has hosted it every other year since 1996.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, President Yoon Suk Yeol introduced jets, helicopters, tanks and howitzers made by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), Hanwha Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem.
"Our defense industry is making new history, creating something from nothing," Yoon said. "A country which relied on aid and imports now has leaped to a level that makes state-of-the art fighter jets and exports them. The government will create an ecosystem where our defense industry can continuously grow."
South Korea, which has long faced threats and provocations from North Korea, has over the years developed a world-class arms industry. In recent years it has emerged as a major arms supplier, selling an array of weapons to countries in Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Khaled Biyari, Saudi Arabia's assistant defense minister, was one of the participants showing interest in South Korean arms. He visited the booths of Hanwha Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem and spoke with their executives.
Hanwha Aerospace CEO Jae-il Son gave the Saudi official a miniature of the company's multiple rocket launcher. Hanwha last year signed a deal with Poland to export more than 200 multiple rocket launchers to the European country that is a frontline state to the war in neighboring Ukraine.
South Korea and its treaty ally the U.S. used the event to demonstrate off their readiness for possible provocations from North Korea.
A U.S. Air Force B-52 Stratofortress bomber performed a flyover on the opening day of the show in what is widely being seen as an effort to underscore military ties between the two countries and send a strong message to North Korea.
United States Forces Korea said that the plane was scheduled to land at an undisclosed location on the peninsula during ADEX. South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported that the aircraft landed on Tuesday and marked the first time for a B-52 to touch down in the country.
Philip Goldberg, the U.S. ambassador to South Korea, also attended, and made a speech for participating U.S. arms companies, including Boeing and Lockheed Martin.
"Events such as ADEX are a testament to the enduring partnership between the ROK and the U.S., which is sustained thanks in large part to the commitment by everyone gathered in this pavilion," Goldberg said.
"Our militaries operate together every day here on the peninsula deterring threats and exercising for contingencies," the diplomat added, praising the companies for their equipment, technology and training that he said keeps the two sides' armed forces "ahead of our adversaries and gives them a qualitative edge."
"This is a great opportunity for contractors to learn more about Korean products," said a man who identified himself as Azmeer and who works to promote KAI's jets and helicopters in Malaysia.
Earlier this month South Korean arms makers participated in the three-day annual gathering of the Association of the United States Army, the largest land warfare exhibition in North America, in a bid to make inroads in the American market.