The agency states that the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration denies reports that the government will likely collaborate with the UAE to complete the development of the domestically produced supersonic fighter KF-21.
In response to a related question at today’s regular briefing of the Ministry of Defence, DAPA spokesperson Choi Kyung-ho stated, “After checking with all relevant agencies and departments, the information is unfounded.”
Republic of Korea’s local publication, Financial News, has recently published an exclusive news stating that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) wants to pay Indonesia’s share of KF-21. The publication claimed that the UAE sent a letter to Korea’s National Security Office expressing its intention to join the KF-21 program. UAE believed that ROK President Yoon Seok-yeol’s discussion of large-scale economic cooperation with the UAE, including military cooperation, gave it a path. The publication stated that UAE’s Tawajun Economic Committee sent a letter to the National Security Office in the name of the Secretary-General on the 4th proposing KF-21 business cooperation with Korea. This letter coincides with UAE’s Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s scheduled visit to Korea in October.