Ahn Gyu-baek's First Overseas Trip as Defense Minister: Signs Second K2 Tank Contract in Poland

Talks with Polish Minister of Defense
Discussing Defense and Defense Industry Cooperation

Minister of National Defense Ahn Gyu-baek will visit Poland, a key defense industry partner, for his first defense diplomacy mission since taking office. During this visit, Minister Ahn will attend the signing ceremony of the second implementation contract for the K2 tank, the largest defense export project in history, and hold talks with the Polish Minister of Defense to discuss ways to enhance bilateral defense and defense industry cooperation.

The Ministry of National Defense announced on the 30th that Minister Ahn plans to visit Poland for three days starting on the 31st. This visit, which is Minister Ahn's first overseas trip since taking office, was made at the request of the Polish Ministry of Defense.

First, on August 1, Minister Ahn will hold a Republic of Korea-Poland defense ministers' meeting with Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense of Poland. At this meeting, the two countries will discuss measures to strengthen defense and defense industry cooperation.

In addition, the two ministers will jointly participate in the signing ceremony for the second implementation contract of the K2 tank, which will be held in Gliwice, Poland. The second implementation contract for the K2 tank is valued at 9 trillion won, making it the largest single defense export contract in history. While the contract quantity (180 units) is the same as the first contract, the contract amount has increased due to the inclusion of technology transfer, maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) conditions, as well as the supply of related equipment such as recovery vehicles, bridge-laying tanks, and engineering vehicles.

The Ministry of National Defense stated, "The second implementation contract for the K2 tank is the largest single defense export contract in history, and it will serve as an opportunity to deepen and develop the mutually beneficial partnership-based cooperation between the two countries." The ministry added, "During his visit, Minister Ahn will also discuss strategic cooperation measures between Korea and Poland for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region, in addition to defense and defense industry cooperation."