S. Korea emerges as 3rd biggest U.S. arms buyer: Pentagon

By Hwang Doo-hyong
WASHINGTON, July 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea was the third biggest client of U.S.
defense goods on a government-to-government contract basis last year, the
Pentagon reports.

South Korea purchased US$790 million worth of defense products from the U.S. in
2008, a sharp rise from $590 million a year earlier, due to the purchase of two
Aegis destroyers for a total of $300 million, said the Annual Military Assistance
Report, released July 17. The warships are capable of intercepting multiple
targets hundreds of kilometers away.
South Korea currently has one 7,600-ton Aegis destroyer and plans to introduce
two more by 2012.
Israel was the biggest buyer, with $1.35 billion in purchases from the United
States, and Saudi Arabia the second largest at $808 million in 2008.
The increase comes after the U.S. Congress passed legislation in September to
grant South Korea the most preferential treatment in foreign military sales
(FMS).
The legislation provides South Korea with the same status as members of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Japan, Australia and New Zealand regarding
FMS -- that is, Congress is required to review proposed arms sales worth over
US$25 million to South Korea within 15 days.
Without the legislation, the U.S. government had to get permission from Congress
for the sale of defense goods worth over $14 million within 30 days.
In approving the legislation, Congress cited the need to enhance weapons
compatibility between the South Korean military and the 28,500 U.S. troops
stationed in South Korea as a legacy of the 1950-53 Korean War.
South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met with U.S. President George W. Bush at
Camp David in April last year to agree on the upgrading of South Korea's
weapons-sales status.
In 2007, South Korea was the fifth biggest U.S. arms buyer, after Israel, Poland,
Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
In the previous four years, South Korea bought $2.8 billion in U.S. arms, the
fifth biggest customer, after Israel's $5.7 billion, Egypt's $5.5 billion, Saudi
Arabia's $4.4 billion and Taiwan's $4.3 billion, according to U.S. congressional
records. Japan came in sixth with $2.3 billion, Poland seventh with $2.3 billion,
Australia eighth with $1.7 billion, Greece ninth with $1.7 billion and Britain
10th with $1.5 billion.
South Korea purchased $6.9 billion worth of defense goods from the U.S. on a
government-to-government foreign military sales basis over 10 years until 2007.
Separately, on a commercial basis, South Korea purchased $1.52 billion worth of
defense goods from the U.S. in fiscal year 2007.
hdh@yna.co.kr
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