Poland and Southern Korea deepen military cooperation
Mariusz Błaszczak, Poland’s Defense Minister, started a three-day visit to South Korea where he met, among others, the country’s defense minister, the minister in charge of arms purchases and representatives of the arms industry. As announced, The Joint Korean-Polish Committee (JKPC) on Cooperation in the Fields of Defense and Defence Industry” is to be established on Tuesday.
“The subject of the talks was the strengthening of the Polish Army’s capabilities within the framework of Polish-Korean cooperation,” the Ministry wrote said in a Monday communiqué.
“Today I spoke with the president of Hyundai Rotem about our cooperation. I also spoke with an advisor to the South Korean president, a national security advisor, as well as the minister who heads the Ministry of Korean Armaments Purchases and Exports,” Błaszczak reported.
“The prospects for strengthening the Polish Army are very good. Within the framework of the committee that will be formed in two days, we will sign an agreement with my Korean counterpart. Within this committee, teams will be set up to deal with specific types of armaments, as well as scientific and research cooperation,” he added.
On Wednesday, Błaszczak is scheduled to participate in the official roll-out of the first FA-50 Fighting Eagle aircraft from the KAI Factory contract for Poland. He and his South Korean counterpart are also to observe fire training using systems ordered by the Polish armed forces – the K239 Chunmoo rocket artillery and the K9 self-propelled cannon howitzer.
The Ministry of Defense further announced that the ministers will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), under which “The Joint Korean-Polish Committee (JKPC) on Cooperation in the Fields of Defense and Defence Industry” will be established.
“Cooperation between Poland and South Korea is well advanced… our [Polish] efforts are focused on replacing post-Soviet equipment with a modern one,” Błaszczak was quoted as saying during the visit.
Poland has recently ordered a number of different types of combat equipment from South Korea – K2 Black Panther tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, K239 Chunmoo rocket launchers, as well as FA-50 light aircraft.
