South Korea's sole aircraft manufacturer, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., said Thursday that it signed a deal to export trainer jets to the Thai government for around $110 million.

   The deal inked in Seoul between leaders of the two sides called for KAI to deliver four units of the T-50TH to the Thai government within 30 months of the contract, the company said in an emailed press release.

   The T-50TH will likely replace the outdated L-39 model that the Thai air force has been using for training purposes, it added.

   The KAI expects that the latest deal will raise the ratio of exports to over 60 percent of its sales target of 3 trillion won set for this year.

   "The fact that the Thai air force with a long period of history chose the T-50TH as its multi-purpose high-level trainer jets helps strengthen the masterpiece image of the T-50 in the East Asia region," it said. (Yonhap)