What kind of weapons are there in South Korea
Ukraine will receive hundreds of thousands of South Korean-made artillery shells through the mediation of the United States.
South Korea is one of the largest producers of weapons in the world, in particular, artillery shells. The country has long refused to supply lethal weapons to Ukraine, citing its relationship with Russia, but that seems to have come to an end. With the help of the USA.
What will they give
According to The Wall Street Journal, citing sources, Seoul has reached a “confidential agreement” with Washington to provide the United States with shells to supply Ukraine.
South Korean defense ministry spokesman Chung Ha-kyu said they were in talks with the Pentagon about exporting munitions, but the WSJ material contained “inaccurate details,” refusing to elaborate.
“There have been various discussions and requests, and our government will take appropriate measures by comprehensively studying the military and humanitarian situation in Ukraine,” he said.
Washington first asked the Seoul government to provide Ukraine with shells last year, but the countries “feared” after the information appeared in the media, US officials told the WSJ. The supply breakthrough came shortly after the South Korean president visited the United States.
At the same time, national security adviser to the South Korean leader Cho Tae-yong said on May 24 that Seoul would consider providing ammunition to Kyiv after monitoring the situation. Now, according to him, they do not plan to send them either directly or through Poland.
The meeting with Zelensky helped
Officially, the authorities of the Republic of Korea plan to provide Ukraine with mine-clearing equipment and ambulances, and will also consider Kyiv’s request for some types of non-lethal weapons.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yol, who first met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the G7 in Japan last week, said Seoul plans to provide Kiev with mine-clearing equipment and ambulances.
Yoon added that South Korea would “thoroughly review” the list of some of the non-lethal weapons that Zelensky had asked for.
Last Wednesday, South Korea signed an agreement with Ukraine on a $130 million financial aid package.
A lot of weapons
Unlike European countries that reduced their armies and weapons production capabilities after the end of the Cold War, South Korea maintained strong defensive supply chains to meet the needs of its own army and defend against the DPRK.
Over the past year, South Korea’s arms exports have grown by 140%, the volume of arms supplies abroad amounted to a record $17.33 billion.
From 2017 to 2021, South Korea’s defense industry showed the best growth results among the 25 largest arms exporting countries.
The country became the 8th largest seller, accounting for 2.8% of the global market, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. But that was before South Korea signed contracts with Poland, Egypt, the UAE last year. The largest defense contractor in the country, Hanwha Aerospace, intends to triple its production capacity by next year.
The South Korean defense industry’s bestseller is the K9 self-propelled howitzer. They are manufactured at Hanwha’s six football field-sized factory in Changwon.
