The South Korean and Romanian leaders pledged on Tuesday to develop cooperation in the defense industry, in the context of Seoul trying to become the world’s fourth arms exporter.
According to some information, in the sense of the new commitments, new contracts have been created and are in the works. President Yoon Suk Yeol received his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, in a meeting and pledged to supplement cooperation in the defense industry, including through the joint production of weapons.
South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik received Polish Deputy Defense Minister Pawel Bejda separately amid reports of a future contract for Hanwha Aerospace to supply additional weapons. South Korea has become a major player in global arms exports, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine has opened the door for South Korean industries to sign large-scale contracts with Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
South Korea’s top manufacturer, Hanwha Aerospace, is working on a $725.7 million contract to supply Romania with K9 howitzers, in what could become the country’s first defense contract, it wrote the Korea Economic Daily newspaper. Hanwha declined to comment on this information.
The company said during a February conference call that it would announce an arms export contract with Romania for the first quarter, but the announcement has not yet been made. In 2023, the company signed a memorandum of understanding with the state-run Romanian Defense Company to export K9 howitzers and infantry fighting vehicles./aionita/cciulu
REUTERS – April 23
