South Korea Was World’s Largest Defense Technology Importer in 2014
Instead of complaining about how much money the ROK government spent in 2014 to upgrade its defense capabilities maybe the Hankyoreh should instead complain about how the North Koreans are the ones necessitating defense upgrades in the first place:
Last year, South Korea was the world’s largest importer of weapons, a US government report shows, which is an inevitable result of South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s emphasis on providing a military deterrent to North Korea. This prompts the criticism that, ultimately, the only winners of this policy are the world’s arms manufacturers.
On Dec. 26, the New York Times reported that South Korea had signed arms contracts worth US$7.8 billion in 2014 – more than any other country – citing a report by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).Around US$7 billion of the weapons purchased by South Korea, which include unmanned surveillance aircraft and transport helicopters, are of American manufacture, the newspaper reported.After South Korea, Iraq purchased US$7.3 billion worth of weapons to strengthen its military after the withdrawal of US forces. Brazil was ranked 3rd on the list, purchasing US$6.5 billion of weaponry, including aircraft made in Sweden. [Hankyoreh]
You can read the rest at the link.
