SEOUL– South Korea seeks to carry out an array of tasks to bolster arms exports, including reinforcing private-military technology cooperation and nurturing skilled workers in the defense industry, officials said Tuesday.
Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and Industry Minister Lee Chang-yang led an interagency meeting in Seoul to discuss the tasks as the country is pushing to build on last year’s achievement of arms exports hitting a record high of US$17.3 billion.
The tasks include investing more than 1.5 trillion won (US$1.18 billion) through 2027 for promoting private-military cooperation through such measures as the application of advanced private-sector technologies in the development of weapons.
The government also seeks to invest 200 billion won until 2027 to secure capabilities to locally produce 40 core arms industry parts and materials, while nurturing more than 3,000 personnel a year in machinery, aviation and other defense-related industrial sectors.
Also among the tasks is conducting feasibility studies worth 2 trillion won for research and development projects related to 16 technology fields, including space, artificial intelligence and robotics, over a span of five years.
The overall plan on those tasks is set to be finalized by the Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology later this month.
“The competitiveness of South Korea’s weapons systems in the global market was confirmed with last year’s record arms sales,” Defense Minister Lee was quoted as saying. “In order to create trust with buyer countries, (we) need to become a single team through pan-governmental cooperation.”
South Korea’s defense exports reached the record figure last year as local defense firms landed major deals, including contracts with Poland to supply K9 self-propelled howitzers and K2 battle tanks.
Source: Yonhap News Agency