South Korea allows Poland to export AHS Krab howitzers with S.Korean parts to Ukraine – Reuters

Reuters reports this with reference to a comment by a representative of defense procurement in South Korea.

Last year, Seoul granted export licenses to Poland that allow it to supply Ukraine with AHS Krab with South Korean parts.

"The comments are the first confirmation that South Korea officially acquiesced to at least indirectly providing weapons components to Ukraine for its war against Russia," the journalists said.

Kim Hyoung-cheol, director of the Europe-Asia Division of International Cooperation Bureau, said that the Defense Acquisition Program Administration's (DAPA) technology control bureau had reviewed and approved the transfer of the South Korean howitzer chassis.

"We reviewed all the documentation and possible issues inside DAPA... then we made decision to give out export license to Poland," he said in an interview with Reuters at DAPA headquarters on the outskirts of Seoul.

Later, he emphasized that the government's position is not to transfer weapons systems to Ukraine.

• As a reminder, in August 2022, Poland signed an agreement with South Korea to purchase tanks, self-propelled howitzers, and ammunition worth about $5.8 billion.

• On March 2, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense of Poland Mariusz Blaszczak announced the launch of production of South Korean K2 tanks at a plant in Poznan.