South Korea showcases military strength in biggest Armed Forces Day parade in years
PBS NewsHourAUG 2023
Report: SKorea Lining up Banks for $22B Arms Sale to Poland
Image copyright: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Spin
Establishment-critical narrative
South Korea is trying to profit off of war and global conflict. Despite the fact that South Korean law prohibits defense companies from selling their weapons directly to countries engaged in conflict, officials have their eye not only on the war in Ukraine but also on the developing war in Gaza. Seoul's loopholes of providing weapons to countries geographically close to Ukraine, like Poland, or refilling depleted US weapons stockpiles, allowing more American weapons to be sent directly to Ukraine and Israel, are insincere workarounds.
Pro-establishment narrative
Many countries around the world, like the US, are overextended with their foreign defense obligations. Countries are depleting their weapons stockpiles by arming Ukraine in its war against Russia, and this scarcity of weapons is not something they can easily or quickly solve on their own. South Korean defense companies can help fill this void. There is a need in this market that South Korea is more than equipped to fill.