Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Minister Lee Jong-sup visits production factory in Geelong (Australia), accompanied by his Australian counterpart and Deputy Prime Minister Marles

Two ministers build consensus on the advancement of mutually reciprocal cooperation

On August 5, Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-sup and his Australian counterpart and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles visited the construction site for a K9 self-propelled howitzer factory located in the city of Geelong, Australia, a symbol of the defense cooperation between the two countries.

During the visit, the two ministers discussed ways for the two countries to cooperate in the areas of defense technology and the defense industry. Their visit to the construction site for the K9 self-propelled howitzer factory was enabled by virtue of Marles’ hope to demonstrate Geelong’s defense industry capabilities and the possibility of cooperation in the area of the arms industry. Geelong is Marles’ hometown and district constituency. They were accompanied by Libby Coker, a member of the House of Representatives of Australia.

At the construction site, the two ministers were briefed by an official from Hanwha Defense on the construction plan for the K9 self-propelled howitzer factory. After touring the construction site, they held a discussion in which they built a consensus on the need to advance the ROK-Australia arms industry cooperation, assessing that the K9 self-propelled howitzer project in Australia is a symbol of ROK-Australia arms industry cooperation and will serve as groundwork for an expansion into mutually reciprocal arms industry cooperation.

Earlier in the day, the two ministers visited Deakin University, an Australian university which focuses on defense-industry-academic cooperation, and were introduced to the main technologies related to the defense industry that are under development at the university.

The two ministers were given an overview of the progress on research on advanced technology areas that can be applied to defense, including △ AI (artificial intelligence)-based analysis tool, △ new materials to be used in the arms industry and △ education and training simulators, and agreed to further strengthen technology cooperation between the two countries to create synergies in technology development.

By Chae-Mu, Im <lims86@dema.mil.kr >

<Copyright ⓒ The Korea Defense Daily, All rights reserved>