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Peruvian President Ollanta Humala has expressed positive views on the purchase of Korea’s KT-1 training jet, a senior ruling party lawmaker said Saturday.
Before leaving Peru for Ecuador, Rep. Lee Sang-deuk of the Grand National Party (GNP) said Humala responded positively to the proposal for buying the KT-1, according to news reports.
Lee said he told the president during a meeting that Korea will transfer technology to help Peru stand on its own.
In his capacity as special presidential envoy, the lawmaker is visiting Ecuador on the last leg of his South American tour. Lee attended Humala’s swearing-in ceremony Thursday.
He said he also pledged to help foster pilots and produce the training jet in a tailor-made manner.
“As I made the proposal that could benefit them, the president expressed his interest in my offer,” Lee said.
The lawmaker said he expressed to Humala Korean businesses’ hopes for expanding cooperation in the defense and petrochemical industries, and that the president listened to him in a sincere manner.
The KT-1 training jet is capable of flying at a maximum speed of 572kph and at a height of up to 11 kilometers.
If Peru decides to import the KT-1, the South American country will become the third nation to buy the training jet. Korea has sought to make inroads into the South American market.
But there are still obstacles for the KT-1 to advance into Peru as Humala pursues “(former Brazilian President) Lula-style, centrist, pragmatic, leftist” policy, observers say. Peru had previously imported training jets from Brazil.
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