Odds for US to reconsider decision low
By Jun Ji-hye
Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Wednesday that he will ask the U.S. government to retract its earlier decision to disallow Lockheed Martin to transfer four core technologies related to its F-35 stealth fighters to Korea.
Han, accompanying President Park Geun-hye on her trip to the United States, is scheduled to visit the Pentagon with Park and meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter today.
"During the meeting, I will ask for the technology transfer," Han told reporters, Tuesday, hours before leaving for Washington. "We will let the U.S. government know that the transfer issue was a hot topic during National Assembly audit sessions."
In April, the U.S. government refused to allow the transfer of four technologies — the active electronically scanned array radar, infrared search and track, electronic optics targeting pod and RF jammer — for security reasons, dealing a serious setback to the nation's 8.5 trillion won KF-X project to develop indigenous fighter jets by 2025.
During the audit last week, lawmakers demanded that Han ask the U.S. defense minister again for the technology transfer. They also argued that the issue should be on the agenda of a summit between Park and U.S. President Barack Obama, scheduled for Friday.
When the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed a deal with the U.S. defense giant in September last year to buy 40 F-35s, the agency said that Seoul would receive a total of 25 technologies from Lockheed including four core ones as part of an offset program.
The U.S. government has yet to make a decision on whether it will allow Lockheed to transfer the remaining 21 technologies to Korea, with DAPA expecting the decision to be made as early as next month.
In August, Han sent a letter to Carter in which he asked for cooperation in the technology transfer, but has not yet received a reply, according to the Ministry of National Defense officials.
A ministry official said on condition of anonymity, "Han will request the U.S. to reconsider its decision to disallow Lockheed to hand over four core technologies, as well as to cooperate in the smooth transfer of the remaining 21."
But defense observers say there is little chance of the U.S. government reversing its decision regarding the four.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn told a parliamentary interpellation session Wednesday: "In preparation for failure to receive the four core technologies, the government is pushing for domestic development and cooperation with other foreign companies."
During their meeting, the two defense chiefs are also expected to coordinate the agenda for their scheduled annual talks next month in Seoul, including follow-up measures for their decision last year to delay South Korea's takeover of wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S.
The possible deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, the core of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system, on the Korean Peninsula is expected to be discussed unofficially, although government officials deny this.
Washington has expressed a wish to deploy THAAD in the South to better deter the North. But it has been a sensitive issue for Seoul because it needs to walk a tightrope between its military ally Washington and No. 1 trade partner China. Beijing has been pressing Seoul to reject the deployment, saying it could be used to nullify Beijing's military strike capabilities.
Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye
By Jun Ji-hye
 |
| Defense Minister Han Min-koo |
Han, accompanying President Park Geun-hye on her trip to the United States, is scheduled to visit the Pentagon with Park and meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter today.
"During the meeting, I will ask for the technology transfer," Han told reporters, Tuesday, hours before leaving for Washington. "We will let the U.S. government know that the transfer issue was a hot topic during National Assembly audit sessions."
In April, the U.S. government refused to allow the transfer of four technologies — the active electronically scanned array radar, infrared search and track, electronic optics targeting pod and RF jammer — for security reasons, dealing a serious setback to the nation's 8.5 trillion won KF-X project to develop indigenous fighter jets by 2025.
During the audit last week, lawmakers demanded that Han ask the U.S. defense minister again for the technology transfer. They also argued that the issue should be on the agenda of a summit between Park and U.S. President Barack Obama, scheduled for Friday.
When the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) signed a deal with the U.S. defense giant in September last year to buy 40 F-35s, the agency said that Seoul would receive a total of 25 technologies from Lockheed including four core ones as part of an offset program.
The U.S. government has yet to make a decision on whether it will allow Lockheed to transfer the remaining 21 technologies to Korea, with DAPA expecting the decision to be made as early as next month.
In August, Han sent a letter to Carter in which he asked for cooperation in the technology transfer, but has not yet received a reply, according to the Ministry of National Defense officials.
A ministry official said on condition of anonymity, "Han will request the U.S. to reconsider its decision to disallow Lockheed to hand over four core technologies, as well as to cooperate in the smooth transfer of the remaining 21."
But defense observers say there is little chance of the U.S. government reversing its decision regarding the four.
Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn told a parliamentary interpellation session Wednesday: "In preparation for failure to receive the four core technologies, the government is pushing for domestic development and cooperation with other foreign companies."
During their meeting, the two defense chiefs are also expected to coordinate the agenda for their scheduled annual talks next month in Seoul, including follow-up measures for their decision last year to delay South Korea's takeover of wartime operational control of its troops from the U.S.
The possible deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, the core of the U.S. ballistic missile defense system, on the Korean Peninsula is expected to be discussed unofficially, although government officials deny this.
Washington has expressed a wish to deploy THAAD in the South to better deter the North. But it has been a sensitive issue for Seoul because it needs to walk a tightrope between its military ally Washington and No. 1 trade partner China. Beijing has been pressing Seoul to reject the deployment, saying it could be used to nullify Beijing's military strike capabilities.
Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye
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