– 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.

Source: Yonhap News Agency