South Korea to export arms to Poland on sidelines of NATO summit

SEOUL -- South Korea will hold talks with Poland on exporting weapons to the Eastern European nation on the sidelines of the NATO summit this week, as Seoul considers providing indirect military support to Ukraine by shoring up a neighbor.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol left Monday for the NATO gathering in Spain, where he is scheduled to meet with other world leaders, according to the Blue House.

Poland, which maintains the largest armed forces in Eastern Europe, is third in the world in military aid committed to Kyiv, behind only the U.S. and the U.K., according to the Germany-based Kiel Institute for the World Economy.

South Korea has pledged $100 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded in February, but Seoul has so far refrained from providing lethal weaponry. A deal with Warsaw would give the Polish military more room to give aid while boosting South Korea's arms industry.

Poland is interested in buying South Korean machine guns, tanks and armored vehicles, according to South Korean media.

South Korea was the world's eighth largest arms exporter during the five years to 2021, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Its top markets included the Philippines and Indonesia.

In January, the President Moon Jae-in talked about arms sales with Middle Eastern countries, including the United Arab Emirates, during a visit to the region. Yoon hopes to expand arms exports to Europe as a result of the NATO summit.

Yoon's agenda for visit to Spain also includes nuclear power exports with the Czech Republic, as well as cooperation on semiconductors with the Netherlands and hydrogen power with Denmark.