Seoul, London talked about arms cooperation at air show

Home > National > Diplomacy

print dictionary print

Seoul, London talked about arms cooperation at air show

Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul, far right, meets for talks with British Minister for Defense Procurement Jeremy Quin, far left, at the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul, far right, meets for talks with British Minister for Defense Procurement Jeremy Quin, far left, at the Farnborough International Airshow in Britain on Tuesday. [YONHAP]

 
Defense officials from South Korea and Britain met on the sidelines of a British air show earlier this week to discuss bilateral cooperation, Seoul's defense ministry said Wednesday.  
 
Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul and British Minister for Defense Procurement Jeremy Quin met for talks Tuesday during the Farnborough International Airshow, a major exhibition for the aerospace and defense industries.  
 
According to the Defense Ministry, the two officials discussed ways to deepen arms industry cooperation between Seoul and London.
 
The meeting follows pledges by President Yoon Suk-yeol and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to create a “bilateral framework for closer cooperation” made at a June meeting held on the sidelines of a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit in Madrid.
 
Shin explained Seoul’s efforts to strengthen its defense systems to counter North Korea's evolving nuclear and missile threats.
 
Quin agreed Seoul and London need to work together to reinforce cooperation in the defense industry and science and technology, as well as diplomatic efforts to cope with the North’s military threats, according to Seoul’s defense ministry.
 
The two sides agreed on the need to boost cooperation between their respective state defense research institutes, the South Korean Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and Britain's Defense Science & Technology Laboratory.
 
According to the Defense Ministry, Shin promoted the K-9 self-propelled howitzer, developed by South Korean defense company Hanwha Defense, as a candidate for Britain’s effort to upgrade its artillery systems.
 
Quin responded that he is aware of the K-9’s excellence and proposed cooperation in other sectors as well, including Seoul’s development of the KF-21, a 4.5-generation supersonic fighter.
 
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), Seoul’s arms procurement agency, announced Tuesday that the KF-21 undertook its first successful flight test after more than six years of development.
 
The development of the KF-21 involved localization of four key technologies whose transfer was blocked by the United States: an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system, infrared search and tracking system, electro-optical targeting pods and radio frequency jammers.
 
International interest in the Korean defense industry has surged after the Russian invasion of Ukraine and Seoul’s focus on arms development and technologies as a key export industry.
 
Seoul inked a 2-trillion-won ($1.66 billion) deal to sell self-propelled K-9 Thunder howitzers to Egypt in February, two months after the country sealed a 930 billion-won ($733 million) contract with Australia to export 30 K-9 units and also 15 K-10 armored ammunition resupply vehicles.
 
Despite South Korea’s reluctance to directly supply Ukraine with weapons in its fight against Russia, Korean-made arms are appearing in the war.
 
In June, Polish media reported that Poland supplied Ukraine with 18 AHS Krab self-propelled howitzers, which combine a British AS-90M Braveheart turret with the chassis, or load-bearing vehicle frame, of Korean K-9 Thunder howitzers.
 

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
Log in to Twitter or Facebook account to connect
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
help-image Social comment?
s
lock icon

To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.

Standards Board Policy (0/250자)