The K2 Black Panther battle tank / Korea Times file
Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) hosted the second Korea-NATO Defense Industry Consultative Meeting at the Government Complex Gwacheon Sunday, the agency said.
The session was co-chaired by DAPA's director of international cooperation, Kim Tae-kon, and Tarja Jaakkola, NATO's assistant secretary general for Defence Industry, Innovation and Armaments.
The two sides exchanged information on areas of potential cooperation and discussed ways to expand defense industry collaboration.
Korea has rapidly emerged as one of the world's fastest-growing defense exporters, securing multibillion dollar contracts for tanks, howitzers and fighter jets with countries spanning Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
Korea used the meeting to stress that access to NATO standards is critical for domestic defense companies seeking to build interoperability with NATO weapons systems — a priority the alliance has emphasized.
NATO's delegation in turn asked Korea to participate in multilateral cooperation projects it is pursuing in the areas of ammunition and space.
The meeting was the second of its kind since Korea and NATO agreed at the June 2025 NATO Summit in The Hague to establish a working-level consultative body on defense industry cooperation. The first session was held in September 2025 at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, making Sunday's meeting the second within eight months.
Prior to the meeting, DAPA Administrator Lee Yong-chul met with Jaakkola and welcomed the NATO delegation's visit to Korea. Lee said Korea would continue seeking mutually beneficial defense industry cooperation with NATO and hoped to establish itself as a reliable Indo-Pacific 4 partner — a grouping that includes Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
Lee also noted that since the Russia-Ukraine war, security in the Indo-Pacific and in the Euro-Atlantic region has become more closely interlinked, and said Korea would work to translate that relationship into concrete defense cooperation through sustained communication with the NATO International Staff.
Source: Korea Times News
