S. Korea introduces $600 million in arms from U.S. in 2010: CRS

By Lee Chi-dong
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (Yonhap) -- The United States delivered $600 million worth of weapons to South Korea last year in government-to-government Foreign Military Sales (FMS) transactions, the ninth-largest volume among developing nations, a Congress-affiliated agency said Wednesday.
In terms of new contracts, which include arms not yet delivered, South Korea ranked eighth in 2010 at $900 million, according to a report by the Congressional Research Service (CRS), which covered the years 2003 to 2010.
The CRS noted that the U.S. and Russia are outpacing China in conventional arms sales to developing nations but did not elaborate on the items.
"Recently, from 2007 to 2010, the United States and Russia have dominated the arms market in the developing world, with both nations either ranking first or second for each of these four years in the value of arms transfer agreements," it said.
The top recipient of U.S. weapons deliveries during the period was India with trade worth $9 billion. South Korea ranked sixth with $4.4 billion.
"Relatively few developing nations with significant financial resources have purchased Chinese military equipment" during the period, it added. "Most Chinese weapons for export are less advanced and sophisticated than weaponry available from Western suppliers or Russia. China, consequently, does not appear likely to be a key supplier of major conventional weapons in the developing world arms market in the immediate future."
But China has been an important source of missiles in the developing world arms market, including Silkworm anti-ship missiles for Iran, the CRS said.
"North Korea and Iran have also reportedly received Chinese missile technology, which may have increased their capabilities to threaten other countries in their respective neighborhoods," it said.