Export Promotion of Domestic Military Supplies

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization　(NATO) cataloging system began to provide information on 1,491 Korean military supplies to the U.S. and 50 European countries, Korea’s Defense Procurement Agency(DPA) announced.

The NATO cataloging system, an information sharing system of NATO member countries, recently allowed defense companies of non-member states to register military supplies.

“Defense departments over the world refer to the NATO cataloging system to import necessary items. Now Korean companies will be able to receive direct orders from 31 non-member as well as 19 member states,” said DPA.

Registered items include repair parts, electric, electronic, and telecommunications equipment, firearms and firearms parts, and conveyance equipment, but finished weaponry are excluded. If Korean companies prove to be competitive, it can increase the odds of exporting finished weapons, said DPA.

Meanwhile, a defense ministry official said, “We are trying to export some of military supplies to other countries but are unable to disclose the items. We can expect that the economy of scale of local defense companies achieved through export will ultimately reduce defense budget, lowering production costs.”

Ho-Won Choi bestiger@donga.com