South Korea and Estonia Defense Ministers Sign MOU on Chunmoo Acquisition

The Ministers of Defense of South Korea and Estonia have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) related to the acquisition of the Chunmoo multiple rocket launcher system.

On October 23, the Ministry of National Defense announced that Minister Shin had held a meeting with Hanno Pevkur, the Estonian Minister of Defense, at the Ministry of National Defense in Seoul. During the meeting, both ministers signed the MOU on the acquisition of Chunmoo, agreeing to actively support Estonia's introduction of Chunmoo and to provide active assistance from both countries' defense ministries.

Minister Hanno, who visited Korea to attend ADEX, discussed ways to strengthen cooperation in defense and the defense industry during the meeting. Prior to the talks, the Ministry of National Defense held a defense policy briefing for the Estonian delegation, introducing South Korea's defense policies.

During the meeting, Minister Shin highly valued the close partnership that has been strengthened between the two countries based on geopolitical and historical similarities. He particularly emphasized that cooperation has continued to deepen since the Estonian military's introduction of the K9 self-propelled howitzer in 2018. He also requested Estonia's continued interest in Korean weapon systems, including Chunmoo and the Redback armored vehicle, which are part of Estonia's ongoing military modernization efforts.

Furthermore, both ministers agreed to further expand defense industry cooperation between the two countries. In addition, they decided to strengthen comprehensive defense exchanges and cooperation in various fields, including high-level exchanges, military education, and cybersecurity, in line with the growing defense industry partnership.