2023-09-19 10:02:39
At a massive South Korean arms factory, robots and highly skilled workers are producing weapons that could ultimately play a role in Ukraine.
South Korean policy has long prohibited the sale of arms in conflict. However, Seoul signed arms deals worth $17.3 billion (16.2 billion euros) last year, including one worth $12.7 billion with Poland, member of NATO and key ally of Kyiv, notably for K9 cannons and K2 tanks.
The country has been able to increase its arms exports when other heavyweights in the sector, notably the United States, are facing production shortages.
“Short deadlines”
“We are able to deliver products in the shortest possible time,” says Mr Lee.
Seoul aims to become the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter, behind the United States, Russia and France, a goal now achievable, according to industry experts.
The country has already sold artillery shells to Washington, but under an “end-user” agreement, meaning the US military will be the one using the munitions.
The South Korean arms industry enjoys a major advantage over other players in the sector: it has always been “ready for war,” said Choi Dong-bin, senior vice president of Hanwha Aerospace.
South Korea and its northern neighbor have technically been at war since the 1950-1953 Korean conflict ended with an armistice, without a peace treaty, between Seoul and Pyongyang.
AFP
South Korea has kept production lines open, and Choi said this gives the country a significant advantage in weapons production because Seoul has the ability to mass produce quickly and easily.
“At the moment, we receive many orders from abroad and we are able to respond quickly to their requests and deliver products in a short time,” he explains.
Seoul’s weapons are also well tested. “They are deployed on the ground,” on one of the most fortified borders in the world, Choi said.
New situation
North Korea lacks Seoul’s high-tech weaponry and has stockpiles of obsolete Soviet-era munitions.
During a six-day visit to Russia that ended Sunday, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un met with Vladimir Putin and experts suspect Moscow of wanting to buy weapons from Pyongyang for the conflict in Ukraine. North Korea is suspected of wanting to acquire technologies for its nuclear and missile programs.
Although Seoul has condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine, it has resisted calls to strengthen its support for Kyiv, in part because it has long asked Moscow to intercede with the North Korean dictator.
But if Russia starts buying weapons from Pyongyang – despite international sanctions – it could change the course of the war in Ukraine and force Seoul’s hand, according to Choi Gi-il, a professor of military studies at Sangji University. .
“If this were to happen, I think there would be a greater than 50 percent chance that weapons manufactured in South Korea and exported to Poland would be deployed to help Ukraine repel the Russians,” he said. he.
The export of South Korean weapons, particularly K9 guns, would be “very valuable to Kyiv.”
1695122584
#South #Korea #arms #factory #play #key #role #Ukraine