Minister Ahn Gyu-baek of the Ministry of National Defense held talks with Minister Hanno Pevkur of Estonia's Ministry of National Defense at the ministry in Seoul on the 23rd.
According to the Ministry of National Defense that day, Minister Ahn emphasized that bilateral cooperation deepened with the Estonian military's introduction of the K9 self-propelled howitzer in 2018. He also asked for interest in Korean weapons systems such as the Cheonmu multiple rocket launcher and the Redback armored vehicle in connection with Estonia's military modernization program.
The two ministers signed a "memorandum of understanding on acquiring Cheonmu" on the occasion of the talks and agreed that the two countries' ministries of national defense would actively support Estonia's introduction of the Cheonmu. Estonia is said to be reviewing the introduction of the Cheonmu as part of its military modernization program.
The Cheonmu is a firepower system of the Korean military designed to counter North Korea's multiple rocket launchers and long-range artillery threats. It mounts multiple missiles to bombard wide areas. It is compatible with various munitions, including 239mm guided rockets, 130mm Guryong rockets, 230mm unguided rockets, and 600mm tactical missiles, allowing operation in multiple configurations.
Minister Ahn also met with a delegation including Andrzej Grzyb, chair of the Polish Sejm National Defense Committee, who visited Korea for the Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX).
Minister Ahn highlighted the excellence of Korean weapons systems such as the K2 tank and K9 self-propelled howitzer adopted by Poland, and proposed pursuing cooperation on follow-up implementation contracts and a submarine program. Poland is pushing the Orca project to introduce three new submarines at a total cost of 8 trillion won.