Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back held a defense ministerial meeting on the morning of August 1 (local time) in Gliwice, Poland, with Poland’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defense, Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz, during which they had an in-depth discussion on ways to deepen defense and defense industry cooperation between the two countries.

Minister Ahn said, “I believe it is meaningful to visit Poland as the first country since taking office,” and added, “Poland is Korea’s strategic partner, and I highly value the development of cooperation between our countries in various industrial sectors, including defense industry and nuclear energy.”

Deputy Prime Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz said, “I welcome the visit of Minister Ahn Gyu-back to Poland and look forward to further developing bilateral relations through this meeting.”

The defense ministers noted the significance of finalizing the second implementation contract after two years of close consultation following the signing of the first K2 Black Panther implementation contract.

They agreed to further strengthen comprehensive bilateral defense exchange and cooperation in line with advancing defense industry collaboration through this contract.

Minister Ahn emphasized that Korea will actively provide specialized education and training to the Polish military to ensure the effective and optimal operation of Korea’s weapon systems, including K2 Black Panther tanks, K9 Thunder howitzers, and K239 Chunmoo.

Minister Ahn emphasized the excellence of Korea’s weapon systems and proposed that both countries further expand mutually beneficial cooperation in additional defense industry sectors, including Poland’s ongoing submarine project.

Finally, Minister Ahn invited Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Kosiniak-Kamysz to visit Korea to directly witness the superiority of Korea’s weapon systems. The Polish defense minister responded that he plans to visit Korea in the near future.