On the outskirts of an industrial city in South Korea, workers at a large weapons factory were conducting final-stage testing on a newly built surface-to-air defense system that could eventually find its way to Ukraine.
Long-standing domestic policy has prohibited South Korea from sending weapons to conflict zones, but South Korea may change its policy after South Korean intelligence last month accused nuclear-armed North Korea of sending thousands of soldiers to help Moscow fight Kiev. I have been warned that there is.
Ukraine’s top priority, then, would be the domestically-made Iron Dome-type interceptor defense system ‘Cheongung’ (or Sky Arrow), which AFP saw during an exclusive tour of the Hanwha Aerospace plant on Thursday. The southern city of Changwon.
As the melody of Beethoven’s Fur Elise played repeatedly through the in-house speakers, veteran welders worked on a massive cylinder that would become part of an essentially defensive inceptor system. Hanwha also produces attack-focused variants.
“The Cheongung system can be thought of as similar to the U.S. Patriot missile system,” said Jeong Seong-young, senior manager at Hanwha Aerospace, Korea’s largest defense company.
Ukraine relies on Western air defense systems, especially the Patriots, to protect itself from Russian missile barrages and has been demanding more missiles be provided.
Washington said in June it would prioritize deliveries to Kiev over other countries that placed orders.
But intervention by South Korea, which is still technically at war with nuclear-armed North Korea and has maintained weapons production long ignored by the Western arms industry, could potentially make a big difference, experts say.
Director Jeong said, “As a divided country, we have systematically established and implemented standards at the national level, from weapons system development to quality management.”
He added, “The quality, capabilities and manufacturing supply chain of our products are sufficiently competitive compared to products from other countries.”
President Yoon Seok-yeol said earlier this month that whether and how South Korea helps Ukraine depends on “the level of North Korea’s intervention,” and that South Korea “does not rule out the possibility of providing weapons.”
If South Korea supplies the weapons, the initial deployment will be defensive in nature, Yoon said.
Ready for battle
Kiev urgently needs more air defense to prevent a steady barrage of missiles targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure and civilian areas, Han Kwon-hee of the Korea Defense Industry Association told AFP.
Major General Han said, “Stability in the rear area is necessary for a counterattack,” and “For this reason, Kiev carried out drone attacks not only in Moscow but also within Russia.”
“They will help Ukraine deter Russian aggression by intercepting drones and missiles flying deep into its territory,” he said. This, along with recent moves by the United States to allow long-range American missiles to be used against targets inside Russia, gave Kiev a major boost.
South Korea has maintained combat readiness since the 1950-53 war with North Korea ended in a ceasefire, and Hanwha Aerospace, South Korea’s largest defense contractor, was once seen by analysts as a backslider due to its focus on land-based weapons, but is now in high demand. .
AFP saw a variety of weapons moving along the assembly line at the company’s sprawling Changwon plant, ranging from infantry armored vehicles to surface-to-air missile systems designed to intercept incoming missiles.
Rising geopolitical tensions in Europe have benefited the Korean company significantly, with operating profit soaring more than 450% year-on-year in its latest quarter to $343.3 million.
Signed major arms deals with countries such as Poland and Romania, including export of K9 howitzers and Chunmu missile systems.
arms exports
South Korea has long had a goal of becoming the world’s fourth-largest arms exporter after the United States, Russia and France, but this is now possible, according to industry surveys.
The United States has already sold 155 mm artillery shells to Washington, but an “end-user” agreement will see the United States use the munitions.
Experts say this could allow the United States to provide Kiev with its own artillery shells.
Experts said another weapon proposal from Hanwha that could shift the balance of the war in Ukraine is the Chunmu guided missile system.
Choi Ki-il, a professor of military studies at Sangji University, said, “The Chunmu, which has a maximum range of 290 km, can attack targets in Pyongyang if launched from the southern border area.”
Professor Choi added, “What Ukraine urgently needs to turn the war to its advantage are offensive weapons that can cause great damage to the enemy, such as Chunmu missiles and K9 howitzers.”
“If North Korea’s direct involvement in the war expands, [Seoul] “In addition to defensive weapons, we may also consider sending lethal weapons.”
