"We are closely monitoring the political situation in South Korea. We are in constant contact with our attaché in Seoul, as well as his Korean counterpart in Poland," said Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, through social media.
“We received assurances from South Korea's Deputy Minister of Defense Il Sung that our cooperation and the execution of defense contracts are in no way threatened,” emphasized the minister.
On Tuesday, the South Korean president declared martial law, deployed the military to protect parliament, and accused the opposition of paralyzing government operations and sympathizing with communist North Korea.
However, less than six hours later, following a unanimous vote by the National Assembly calling for the repeal of martial law, the president confirmed its end. The opposition now demands his resignation, his advisors have resigned, and the government announced it would step down.
Poland secures 4 billion euro loan for South Korean weapons purchases
On Monday, Deputy Minister of Defense Paweł Bejda confirmed that Poland would soon sign a contract to purchase several hundred support vehicles for South Korean-made K9 howitzers, which will be produced by the Polish Defense Group using solutions from Hyundai Rotem.
Warsaw, 02.12.2024. Deputy Minister of National Defense Paweł Bejda (left) and the head of the Armaments Agency, Brigadier General Artur Kuptel (right), during a press briefing on modernization contracts for the Polish Armed Forces (photo: PAP/Radek Pietruszka)
Poland secured a 4 billion euro loan for this purpose through an agreement signed in late November with the Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego.
The funds will cover the purchase of K9 howitzers and partially finance the Homar-K rocket launchers, which use missiles with a range of up to 300 km.
The Deputy Minister of National Defense, Paweł Bejda, confirmed via social media that the head of South Korea's DAPA (Defense Acquisition Program Administration) will arrive in Poland on Monday, December 9.
"The current situation provides us with absolute assurance that the delivery of South Korean equipment to Poland is in no way at risk," the politician emphasized.
On December 4, Poland celebrates both Barbórka, the miners' holiday, and the Day of Rocket Forces and Artillery.
To mark the occasion, the Ministry of Defense shared a video of the first flight of the multi-role F-35 Husarz at the NAS Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth in Texas.
Read more about this subject:
Source: IAR/PAP/MON
(m p)
Click on the audio player above for a report by Radio Poland's Michał Owczarek.