South Korea's army conducts a military drill with Hyundai Rotem's K2 Black Panther tanks. The weapons are drawing keen interest in Europe. (Photo courtesy of Hyundai Rotem)

South Korean arms find interest in Europe amid Ukraine war

Hyundai, Hanwha, KAI win orders in Poland, but other countries also tempted

JENS KASTNER, Contributing writer, and KIM JAEWON, Nikkei staff writer

September 9, 2022 06:00 JST

HAMBURG, Germany/SEOUL -- The European arms market was shaken by a new entrant in July. While Krauss-Maffei Wegmann of Germany has been pitching tank upgrades to the country's European allies, Poland announced it had formed a deal with South Korea's Hyundai Rotem.

The move was surprising, as it marked only the second major arms procurement by a NATO member from a supplier outside the bloc. In 2017, Turkey had bought an air defense system from Russia in a highly controversial move.