German weapons makers profiting from Korea tensions

DW, Germany ^ | Rodion Ebbighausen | 14.08.2017

[sukhoi-30mki]

The German cruise missile Taurus KEPD-350 has a lot of demand in South Korea. The nearly 1,000-kilogram high-tech weapon made by an eponymous German firm, Taurus Systems, has a range of almost 500 kilometers. It has been specifically designed to penetrate highly capable air defense systems in low-altitude flight.

The weapon is capable of both hitting deep underground bunkers as well as destroying large surface areas.

South Korea's significance for Taurus, based in Germany's Bavaria state, is seen by the fact that the company set up a representative office in Seoul in 2014. In October 2016, 177 cruise missiles were handed over by the firm to the South Koreans. The delivery of 90 more has already been decided.

But cruise missiles were only a part of the armaments bought by South Korea last year. In the first half of 2016, South Korean purchases of German military gear amounted to over 200 million euros, according to German government data.

The sales encompass a broad spectrum of weapons systems, including, but not limited to, submarine parts, combat ships, missiles, missile defense systems, rocket parts, components for combat tanks and armored howitzers. This meant that in the first half of 2016, South Korea was the fourth largest buyer of weapons made in Germany.

But this is not a one-off occurrence. In fact, South Korea has regularly figured among the top five destination countries of German armaments over the past several decades.

The biggest deals in recent years were struck in the years 2001 and 2008. At that time, South Korea acquired new submarines, frigates and combat ships made in Germany.

A troubled spot

The Korean Peninsula is one of the world's highly sensitive flashpoints. The situation there has become even more perilous over the

[sukhoi-30mki]

CGI of Eurofighter with 2 Taurus missiles

[Wuli]

I do not know the history behind any of them, but Koreans, north and south, have found many friendly connections in Germany before and after the cold war and unification of east and west Germany. I think some German Korean relations go back to the 1800s.

[T-Bone Texan]

I sure hope this is not the same company that made my Taurus .22lr revolver, because that thing sucked.

I feel bad for the person who stole it.