Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Korea poised to sign major arms deals with Saudi Arabia
The Cheongung-II surface-to-air missile defense system / Courtesy of Defense Acquisition Program Administration
By Nam Hyun-woo
Seoul shows cautious stance on Israel-Hamas conflict
Korea and Saudi Arabia are in the final stage of talks for sizeable defense deals, Seoul’s presidential office said Monday, dropping hints at long-term and systematic defense industry cooperation between the two countries.
During a press briefing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, First Deputy Director of National Security Kim Tae-hyo said the defense industry is emerging as “a blue ocean” between the two countries, and that “large-scale defense industry cooperation discussions are in the final stage, in various areas such as air defense systems and firepower arms.”
President Yoon Suk Yeol is now in Riyadh as part of a state visit to Saudi Arabia. The president met with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman on Sunday and discussed ways to expand the partnership through construction, energy, emerging technologies and defense industries.
Kim said that Seoul wants to help Riyadh improve its national defense capabilities with Korea’s advanced weapons systems and that such a partnership would build strong momentum in expanding Korea’s defense industry markets.
Details on the deals remain under wraps. An official at the presidential office said, “We are at the stage of sealing contracts, and I can only say the scale and the value of the deals are sizeable.”
“There are threats that Saudi Arabia is recognizing near its territory,” the official said. “Revealing the type of weapon system and the value of the deals will allow other nations to gauge how many units Saudi Arabia is purchasing. This is a very sensitive matter.”
Saudi Arabia is known to be considering Korea’s Cheongung-II surface-to-air missile defense system to intercept air strikes from Yemen’s Houthi Rebels.
During Prince Mohammed’s visit to Seoul in November, the crown prince reportedly expressed his interest in the Cheongung-II system. Saudi Arabian Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman also showed interest in the missile system during his visit to Korea in March.
The Cheongung-II system is grabbing the attention of Middle Eastern countries after Korea’s LIG Nex1, Hanwha System and Hanwha Defense signed a 4.29 trillion won ($3.17 billion) deal to export the Cheongung-II to the United Arab Emirates.
“After accomplishing a record-high $17.3 billion in defense exports last year, Europe, the Middle East and other parts of the world are showing growing interest in Korea’s weapon systems,” Kim said. “We believe Yoon’s trip will be a catalyst to expand the scale of our defense export market.”
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks with Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman during their meeting at Al Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, Sunday (local time). Joint Press Corps
During the summit between Yoon and Prince Mohammed, the leaders exchanged opinions on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine’s Hamas.
The issue has been viewed as a diplomatic test for Yoon, as Seoul’s closest ally, the United States, and its allies, have maintained steadfast support for Israel, while Saudi Arabia appears to be balancing its position between them, given its status as one of the leaders of the Arab world.
“The leaders did exchange their opinions, but it is inappropriate to disclose their talks,” an official at the presidential office said.
“We didn’t see Saudi Arabia standing by a specific side, and at the same time, the kingdom appears to have a long-term perspective on normalizing ties with Israel, which was sponsored by the U.S., rather than quitting the talks. We believe our strategic cooperation with Saudi Arabia will be accelerated when the region becomes more stable.”
The official noted that Seoul has clearly shown its position by expressing humanitarian concerns on the conflict, and he believes “Saudi Arabia is fully understanding of Korea’s position.”
“Korea will first advocate existing international rules and laws and then consider support options starting with humanitarian issues that we can address,” the official said.
“At this point, we do not believe that we should intervene militarily, politically, or take any specific stance directly on this issue.”