A statement by Polish President Andrzej Duda was circulated in the press that Poland would not transfer South Korean-made weapons, such as K2 tanks, K9 self-propelled howitzers, and even FA-50 aircraft, that are currently in service with the Polish Armed Forces.
He emphasized that the South Korean weapons were purchased with Polish taxpayers' money, so it is inappropriate to transfer them as part of military aid to Ukraine. Andrzej Duda also said that Ukraine's military and political leadership had asked Poland for the transfer of South Korean weapons.
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Two points should be emphasized here. First, South Korea keeps silence in this story. This country has not publicly commented on whether it would approve the transfer of its weapons from "third countries" to Ukraine. To be fair, K9 howitzers are also used by Estonia and Finland, which, despite their limited resources, have provided quite generous military assistance to Ukraine.
The second point is that this story emphasizes the attractiveness of South Korean weapons, especially in the current geopolitical environment, since the official Seoul clearly does not outline any restrictions on the use of its weapons for different buyers.
However, it should be noted that in order to receive South Korean weapons, Ukraine needs to cooperate directly with Seoul on the terms of a commercial contract.
It should also be noted that in the case of Poland, although the first samples of South Korean weapons were delivered in record time, but the question of the direct training of troops in the ranks arose as a rather lengthy process. The Polish side could not do without direct assistance from South Korea.
Although Poland received the first K2 tanks only 102 days after ordering them, the first battalions will be operational in only three years. The story of the FA-50 aircraft procurement was also realized with some specific aspects.
Against this backdrop, the need for direct cooperation with South Korea becomes obvious for Ukraine, at least in terms of receiving technological assistance from the country of origin in the development of modern and sophisticated weapons systems.
At the same time, it is worth recalling the more relevant formats of defense assistance that South Korea could provide to Ukraine, which we have previously described in our publications. For instance, South Korea has as many as 3.4 million 105-mm shells, which are very much needed for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as T-80 tanks and BMP-3 infantry fighting vehicles.
Earlier Defense Express reported that new basis for cooperation between Ukraine and South Korea was being formed.
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