Korean defense companies seeking to expand their ties with NATO member nations may need to establish joint ventures and local production partnerships in member states, following the model they have built in Poland, Czech Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna said Monday. “Poland is not only buying (Korea’s K2 tanks). Basically, it is building industry around it in cooperation with South Korean businesses,” Zůna said during an interview with The Korea Times at the Czech Embassy in Seoul. “Poland is a prime example of how it should be done — basically creating a joint venture, transferring technology from South Korea to the European partner,” he said, noting that a number of European countries are considering the K2 as a potential main battle tank. Zůna was in Seoul to attend the Seoul Defense Dialogue, an annual multilateral security forum hosted by Korea’s Ministry of National Defense. This year’s forum ran from Monday through Wednesday. During his visit, he also met Korean Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back to discuss bilateral defense and security coop