UK minister visits South Korea to push defence industry co-operation

Peter Luff, the UK's minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, has visited South Korea with a view to developing "the defence relationship between the two countries", the UK Ministry of Defence said in a statement on 26 June.

On 25 June Luff toured the dockyards of Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME), which in March signed a KRW801.5 billion (USD713 million) contract to build four Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) tankers for the UK Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

DSME was selected in February ahead of another South Korean shipbuilder, Hyundai Heavy Industries, and Italy's Fincantieri. The first 37,000-tonne MARS tanker is expected to enter service in 2016.

A South Korean defence official told IHS Jane's that the two countries were "considering expanding co-operation" and had outlined "one or two areas of co-operation in maritime systems", although he refused to go into details.