S. Korea, Poland agree to launch arms cooperation dialogue, joint drills

SEOUL, Feb. 24 (Yonhap) -- The defense chiefs of South Korea and Poland have agreed to launch a ministerial dialogue on arms industry cooperation and joint military drills during their talks in Warsaw, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday.

Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup and his Polish counterpart, Mariusz Blaszczak, met Thursday, as the two countries seek to deepen security cooperation on the back of last year's deals for the South to supply tanks, howitzers and fighter jets to Poland.

They agreed to create the regular consultative body to "systematically" manage defense and arms industry cooperation between the two countries. The two sides plan to discuss its makeup and modus operandi in a "swift" manner, according to the ministry.

They also agreed to hold joint military drills to share their respective experiences in operating Korean-made weapons, and strengthen "interoperability" between the two militaries, it added.

Bilateral arms industry cooperation deepened last year as the South inked deals to supply Warsaw with K9 self-propelled howitzers, K2 battle tanks and FA-50 light attack aircraft.

Blaszczak said his country plans to continue to introduce South Korean weapons systems, and noted the need for "strategic and long-term" cooperation, according to the ministry.

Lee made a proposal to craft an arms industry cooperation model beneficial for both sides, such as one that would help Poland advance its defense technologies and South Korea secure a "bridgehead" to tap into the European arms market.

The ministers later visited an artillery range in Torun to observe a live-fire demonstration by K9 howitzers with shells manufactured by a Polish company.

yunhwanchae@yna.co.kr
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