Poland buys weapons from South Korea. German press: This is a clear strategy

• “This contract casts a shadow over other European defense plans: Poland will buy more than 1,000 tanks, 648 self-propelled howitzers and 48 FA-50 fighters in South Korea. In addition, there is the development of production plants in Poland” – writes the German daily
• “Poland, which has handed over a significant part of its weapons systems to the Ukrainian army, is arming like any other NATO country. The fact that the government in Warsaw chose South Korea as a long-term partner surprised many foreign observers” – says “De Welt”
• The daily quotes the head of the Visegrad Insight Research Center, Wojciech Przybylski, who believes that Poland and South Korea also “exchange experiences in this field”.
• More information can be found on the Onet homepage

“This contract casts a shadow over other European defense plans: Poland will buy more than 1,000 tanks, 648 self-propelled howitzers and 48 FA-50 fighters from South Korea. In addition, there is the development of production plants in Poland” – reports the reporter D. Welt from Warsaw ‘Philip Fritz. Already referring to it A framework agreement was signed in July and on September 16 Fighter purchase agreement.

“Poland, which has handed over a significant part of its weapons systems to the Ukrainian army, is arming like any other NATO country. The fact that the government in Warsaw chose South Korea as a long-term partner surprised many foreign observers. The eastern country itself is not a NATO member, and therefore, the operation The interface of South Korean weapons systems with NATO systems is not guaranteed,” Fritz notes in the Monday issue of Die Welt.

strategic cooperation

He adds that the details of the agreement with Seoul in Poland raised eyebrows, such as the purchase of howitzers, “because the government could order a similar product from the local company HSW.” The German journalist writes: “However, Polish experts are not surprised that South Korea was chosen primarily. From the point of view of industrial and security policy, this country is already one of Poland’s closest partners.”

“The arms contract is just a sign of a relationship that has developed over the years, which will become more visible and not be without consequences for the rest of the European Union,” he says.

This is evidenced – according to the journalist “Die Welt” – the words of the Polish Minister of Defense, Mariusz Paszaczak, about the pursuit of cooperation of a “strategic nature”. “So it’s not just about filling in the gaps in the military, because relations with South Korea go beyond arms supply,” he adds. As he recalls, in 2015, PiS leader Jaroslaw Kaczynski compared Poland to South Korea and “recognized this Asian country as a model.”

South Korea as a model

Polish politicians see parallels between their country and the Republic of Korea, which in a few decades has transformed from a poor country into one of the world’s leading economies, Fritz wrote. He adds that in 1989 Poland started catching up, and since the mid-1990s it has become one of the fastest growing large economies in the world. “In the European Union, too, Poland is in the lead, with its economy growing by up to five percent every year. Whoever visits Warsaw today with its glass skyscrapers, and watches the pace of business, should think of major Asian cities such as Seoul” – writes a journalist German .

However, there is another reason why the people of Poland and South Korea feel close to each other. You feel like you live in a dangerous neighborhood. While prior to February 24, 2022, Polish warnings against an aggressive Russia in Brussels or Berlin were often considered exaggerations, South Koreans were seen as full of understanding. They, too, feel constantly threatened by their nuclear-armed neighbor, North Korea,” Die Welt wrote.

The daily quoted the head of the Visegrad Insight research center, Wojciech Przybylski, who believes that Poland and South Korea “exchange experiences in this field.” Die Welt also confirmed that South Korea is the most important Asian investor in Poland. According to the Visegrad Insight expert, South Korea’s goal is to make Poland a center for investment, and possibly also a center for its industry in the European market.