S. Korea eyes stricter control of defense exports: officials

By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea may touch up its provisions on defense
production, mainly to prevent its weapons and defense materials from finding
their way into enemy states including North Korea, officials at Seoul's weapons
procurement agency said Tuesday.

South Korea's exports of defense products reached a record-high US$1.17 billion
last year, with 104 South Korean firms selling defense products to a total of 74
countries, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said Tuesday.
This is an increase of 13 percent from last year's exports, when 80 local firms
made deals with 59 countries.
"With so many companies selling items to so many different states, some products
may end up in enemy states or be used to harm world peace," said Kim Suk-soon,
head of the DAPA's exports bureau. "We cannot control all products, but plan to
work on provisions so that firms dealing with sensitive products can be warned
beforehand."
Some military truck tires, made in South Korea, had been confirmed to have ended
up in North Korea a few years back, Kim explained.
There have also been media reports of other South Korea-made defense products
flowing into Pyongyang. These reports have not been confirmed by the government.
The two Koreas are still technically at war with the 1950-53 conflict ending in a
truce.
The agency said it plans to work on revising the country's defense production law
by adding stricter restrictions concerning firms dealing with arms exports.
"Firms need clearer provisions telling them what to, what not to and to whom to
sell," Kim said.
hayney@yna.co.kr
(END)

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