Finnish defense chief ‘happy’ with S. Korean K-9 howitzers as country looks to boost defense spending
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Yonhap) — Finnish Defense Minister Antti Hakkanen voiced satisfaction with Helsinki’s purchase of South Korean K-9 self-propelled howitzers as his country is considering buying a range of other South Korean defense products and technology.
“We are really happy about it. We are satisfied with the capabilities that it provides for us,” Hakkanen told a group of reporters in Seoul on Monday on the sidelines of the Korea-Finland Innovation Forum meant to explore dual-use technologies in the defense and private sectors. “We are now kind of assessing all the products, the technology, what the South Korean industry can provide.”
Finland is one of the nine countries, including six member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), outside of South Korea that use the K-9 howitzer. Finland first signed a deal in 2017 to purchase 48 used South Korean howitzers over a seven-year period and modify them before deployment.
While the Finnish defense chief did not provide further details on potential acquisitions, he said the swift delivery time and high quality of South Korean defense products could make them appealing for European nations seeking to beef up their defense capabilities not too late.
“Europe ramped down its whole defense industry after the Cold War. Now it’s been ramped up, but it will take several years,” he said. “Time is the key. That’s why South Korea is known. You can do high quality, fast.”
Hakkanen’s remarks came as a slate of European nations are looking to beef up their defense spending in the face of changing security circumstances, most notably triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Antti Hakkanen, Finland’s defense chief, speaks during the Korea-Finland Innovation Forum held at Seoul National University in Seoul on Sept. 9, 2024, in this photo provided by the Embassy of Finland in Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
Finland, which borders Russia and joined NATO in 2023 amid the ongoing war, saw its defense budget account for 2.41 percent of its total GDP in 2024. Not only is the figure higher than the NATO guideline of 2 percent but significantly higher than the 1.45 percent the country logged in 2014.
While noting the similarities between South Korea and Finland, as high-tech countries with democratic societies and market-oriented economies, Hakkanen said nuclear and renewable energy are some other sectors where the countries could further work together outside of the defense sector.
But what could open a “new phase” for another level of bilateral cooperation would be cooperation in security, he said.
“Russia, Iran, North Korea and China are playing really a big game together, and if you look at history, dictators are not vanishing anywhere, they are getting worse,” he said. “That’s why democratic countries, even though we are situated at a long distance from each other, we have to play together.”
“Of course, one thing is that we joined the NATO, and South Korea is a partner for NATO,” Hakkanen said.
Asked about whether South Korea should provide lethal weapons in support of Ukraine in the ongoing war, the Finnish defense chief said such weapons could be crucial for the survival of an independent country, making note of Finland’s own history.
“When Finland was attacked by Stalin in 1939, some countries said we can give you financial aid, but that didn’t help because we needed guns and ammos,” he said.
“That’s why we feel the Ukrainians’ pain from our history, that we have to give them what they need to defend themselves. But every government does their own assessments.”
Antti Hakkanen, Finland’s defense chief, and Defense Acquisition Program Administration Minister Seok Jong-gun shake hands on the sidelines of the Korea-Finland Innovation Forum held at Seoul National University in Seoul on Sept. 9, 2024, in this photo provided by the Embassy of Finland in Seoul. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
mlee@yna.co.kr
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