Korea streamlines NATO standards access to accelerate defense exports

Korea has established a set of new guidelines to help defense companies better meet technical standards required by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations for arms exports, the arms agency said Monday.

The guidelines will allow defense companies, research institutes, and related government agencies to access NATO military specifications through the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), streamlining a process that was previously handled by individual companies on a case-by-case basis, DAPA said.

To export military hardware, such as the K9 self-propelled howitzers and the K2 main battle tanks, to NATO member states, Korean companies must build, test and certify their products in line with NATO requirements to ensure compatibility with NATO weaponry.

The absence of a common legal channel or framework to support the standardization has often led to administrative delays in defense exports to the NATO bloc.

Under the guidelines, DAPA will directly obtain unclassified standards from NATO's online database and provide them to the contractors. For classified standards, DAPA will request authorization from NATO.

The guidelines are expected to serve as an institutional channel to help ensure strict compliance with NATO standards, not only the equipment specifications but also security protocols, DAPA said.

"The enactment of these guidelines lays a solid foundation to provide our defense companies and organizations with necessary NATO standards in a swifter and more systematic manner," DAPA Minister Kim Yong-cheol said in a release.

"The move will substantially contribute to expanding our defense firms' entry into the NATO defense market, including arms exports and international joint research and development projects," Kim said.

Yonhap