{"id":2199136,"date":"2022-10-11T08:08:29","date_gmt":"2022-10-11T08:08:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/koreapro\/?p=2199136"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:11","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:11","slug":"ukraine-war-and-north-korean-threats-push-forward-south-koreas-arms-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/10\/ukraine-war-and-north-korean-threats-push-forward-south-koreas-arms-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Ukraine war and North Korean threats push forward South Korea\u2019s arms industry"},"content":{"rendered":"
South Korea is one of the fastest-growing arms exporters in the world, with its military sales <\/span>soaring<\/span><\/a> by 177% during the past five years. Boasting the highest increase in the volume of exports of major arms among the top 20 suppliers, South Korea became the eighth largest arms exporter in 2017-2021, far outpacing the growth of France, Italy and Australia.<\/span><\/p>\n ROK defense companies sell a broad range of homegrown products, including tanks and artillery, mid-range surface-to-air missiles and self-propelled howitzers. Moving forward, the country’s defense technology is expected to develop further; after completing successful flight tests of its <\/span>homegrown KF-21 fighter jet<\/span><\/a>, South Korea joined an <\/span>elite club<\/span><\/a> of just seven countries that have locally developed supersonic fighter jets.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Amid <\/span>evolving threats<\/span><\/a> from North Korea, President Yoon Suk-yeol appears set to support not only South Korea\u2019s own defense system over the next five years but also strategic partnerships with other countries. His <\/span>inauguration speech<\/span><\/a> in May was largely a defense of U.S.-led internationalism, and while he may have avoided direct mention of nations other than North and South Korea, Yoon also made it clear that <\/span>strengthening military alliances<\/span><\/a> with other democracies ought to be a primary objective of his administration.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n A list of policy tasks the Yoon administration <\/span>unveiled in May<\/span><\/a> also calls for South Korea to become \u201ca global leading nation that contributes to freedom, peace and prosperity\u201d on the Korean Peninsula and beyond. This includes strengthening cooperation with the U.S., Japan and European nations, as well as prioritizing diplomacy that focuses on economic security and foreign affairs.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In line with Yoon\u2019s pledges, the South Korean defense ministry <\/span>vowed<\/span><\/a> to develop \u201ccutting-edge technology\u201d that implements Fourth Industrial Revolution concepts such as artificial intelligence and big data into defense technologies. The defense ministry has also focused its budgeting to secure core military forces of the country and respond to North Korea\u2019s nuclear and missile threats, such as bolstering the so-called <\/span>Three Axis System<\/span><\/a> for the country\u2019s defense.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As such, while <\/span>decreasing<\/span><\/a> the overall rate of government budget expansion from 8.9% to 5.2%, the Yoon administration will request a 4.6% <\/span>increase<\/span><\/a> to national defense spending for 2023, raising Seoul\u2019s defense budget to a record-high $42.4 billion (57.1 trillion won). While cutting spending for warplanes and a <\/span>light aircraft carrier<\/span><\/a>, the proposed defense budget earmarks millions to develop hypersonic glide vehicles and propellent technology systems in 2023.<\/span><\/p>\n