As South Korea becomes a key arms supplier to US allies, its best customer is on the edge of a warzone

CNN

17 hours ago

Poland has finalized a deal to acquire a second batch of 180 South Korean tanks under a 2022 agreement that will eventually see Warsaw boost its arsenal with almost 1,000 of the armored vehicles.
The deal underlines Poland's emergence as a substantial European military force, as well as South Korea's status as a major arms supplier – especially to US allies as wars around the world exhaust American stockpiles.
It comes as Russia ramps up attacks on Ukraine, some of which have come within 100 miles of Polish territory on Ukraine's western border.
Warsaw has been increasing defense spending since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, acquiring new weaponry while also helping Kyiv with its defense.
As a NATO member bordering Ukraine, it is seen part of the alliance's first line of defense should Russian leader Vladimir Putin decide to expand his aggression beyond Ukraine.
Poland's Defense Ministry announced the tank deal, which still needs to be formally signed, in a post on social media platform X earlier this month.
It put the price tag at $6.7 billion and said that includes 80 support vehicles, ammunition, and logistics and training packages for the Polish Army.
The deal for the K2 main battle tanks, regarded as among the world's most powerful, includes units to be made in South Korea by defense giant Hyundai Rotem and the establishment of a production line in Poland for a Polish variant, the K2PL, according to South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), which oversees Seoul's foreign military sales.
Sixty of the batch of 180 tanks will be built in Poland, the Polish Defense Ministry's post on X said. The first 30 of the South Korea-made tanks included in the new contract are expected to arrive in Poland next year, it said.
In 2022, the two countries signed a deal for Poland to get 180 K2s. All but about 45 of those have been delivered, with the remainder expected to arrive in Poland by the end of the year, Hyundai Rotem said.
That framework was considered South Korea's biggest overseas defense deal ever. It included a total of 980 K2s, 648 self-propelled K9 armored howitzers, and 48 FA-50 fighter jets, the Polish Defense Ministry said at the time.
The ministry said the armored vehicles would, in part, replace Soviet-era tanks that Poland has donated to Ukraine to use in its fight against Russia.
A March report from the Wilson Center based in Washington, DC, said Poland has given Ukraine more than 300 tanks and more than 350 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers.
Poland has been on edge in recent days after Russia ramped up drone attacks on Ukraine.
A Russian drone barrage against the northwestern Ukrainian city of Lutsk was so intense it caused Warsaw to scramble fighter jets as a precaution. Lutsk is about 50 miles from the Polish border.
A NATO report from April cited Polish efforts to dramatically increase defense spending in the face of the Russian threat. Warsaw's defense spending has grown from 2.7% of GDP in 2022 to an expected 4.7% in 2025, according to the report.
'Of all NATO allies, it spends the highest percentage of its GDP on defense,' the NATO report said.
It noted Poland's purchase of South Korean arms to quickly fill gaps left by donations to Ukraine.
The Wilson Center report said Poland has 'arguably emerged as Europe's most capable military power.'
But a May report from the RAND Corp think tank expressed caution over the financing of Poland's arms buildup.
Many of its purchases are 'financed through direct loans from countries supplying equipment,' RAND said, adding: 'If securing such loans proves impossible, market financing might be too expensive to turn framework agreements into binding contracts.'
RAND also said Poland faces recruitment challenges, needing to increase troop strength by almost 50% in the next 10 years.
Meanwhile, South Korea has emerged as the world's 10th-largest arms exporter over the past five years, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Over that span, Poland has received 46% of South Korean military exports, followed by the Philippines at 14% and India at 7%, according to the SIPRI's Trends in International Arms Transfers 2024 report.
As the war in Ukraine has dragged on, as well as Israel's war in Gaza, US military aid for Ukraine and Israel has drained its arms stockpiles. South Korea is therefore increasingly seen as an option for US allies in need of weapons, according to a 2024 report from the DC-based Stimson Center.
And Seoul's arms industry may become important to Washington in the future, the report said.
'Increased South Korean defense industrial base capacity, particularly in arms and shipbuilding, has the potential to directly support the United States,' the report said.
Shipbuilding is seen as a particular area of South Korean military industrial strength, and Washington has already seen contracts for maintenance of US Navy supply ships go to South Korean yards as the Navy grapples with a backlog in US shipyards.
Along with the K2 tanks, South Korea has sent 174 K9 howitzers to Poland under the 2022 framework, with 38 remaining to be delivered, according to contractor Hanwha Aerospace.
A second tranche of 152 K9s is in the works, Hanwha said.
Of the 48 FA-50 jets ordered, only 12 have been sent so far, according to manufacturer Korean Aerospace Industries.