On 7th March 2025, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said that Polish President Andrzej Duda expressed his hope for rapid progress in finalizing the contract with South Korea for the purchase of K2 battle tanks and stressed the importance of continued defense cooperation.[1]
This cooperation between South Korea and Poland is a move against Moscow’s policies, especially considering the Russia-Ukraine War, and has enabled the emergence of new security dynamics through alternative defense cooperation. On the other hand, South Korea’s defense industry, which is allied with the United States of America (USA), had the opportunity to open up to the European market and paved the way for its globalization.
South Korea and Poland signed a $12.4 billion deal in July 2022 under which South Korea will supply the European country with K2 tanks, K9 automatic howitzers, FA-50 light attack aircraft and Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers.[2]Likewise, this agreement, while aiming at deterrence against Russia, has enabled South Korea to supply defense to Europe, providing an alternative to the US outside Europe.
In the Asia-Pacific, this cooperation could provoke reactions from China and North Korea. It may also cause Japan, India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries to adopt a more cautious and distant attitude within the framework of regional security. Therefore, South Korea is expected to develop a policy of careful balancing against the dynamics in the Asia-Pacific region in line with its own economic and security interests. In this context, furthering its military cooperation with Poland through military exercises could further destabilize the regional security environment.
Although they have historically engaged in diplomatic and economic cooperation at certain levels, South Korea and Poland did not engage in any military cooperation until 2022. With this milestone, the dialogues on defense cooperation between the two countries have increased, especially in recent years. This is because Poland felt the need to increase its military capacity in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine War and wanted to benefit from South Korea’s defense system, a critical factor in strengthening the eastern side of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
As one of the main actors in the Asia-Pacific, South Korea’s contacts with Europe lead to an increase in its global influence and strengthening of its position in the region through security cooperation, even changing the dynamics of the region. Thus, South Korea, which constitutes a strategically important connection point between the Asia-Pacific and Europe, also provides an environment for the US to increase its influence in these regions, given its cooperation with the US.
Moreover, this cooperation, which accelerated defense procurement for Europe, provided both an opportunity to support Ukraine and a more harmonious-integrated development of European and US cooperation in the fields of security and defense. The South Korea-Poland partnership, which will also contribute to the strengthening of transatlantic cooperation, is also considered by other Western organizations such as the United Nations (UN) as a factor preventing the Russian-Ukrainian War from spreading to the region.
Nevertheless, for countries in Asia or regional organizations such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), this would lead to the spread of Western influence in the region and efforts to develop new strategies in response. Possible policies of deterrence could lead to polarization in the region, making it difficult for ASEAN countries to maintain their policy of neutrality.
The South Korean-Polish military cooperation is not only an agreement between the two countries, but also has a role that can affect a wide range of regions and change the balance at the global level. Moreover, this cooperation emphasized the importance of not only great powers such as the US, China or Russia, but also more regional actors such as South Korea and Poland in the process towards a multipolar world order. In other words, the diversity of power centers has increased the importance of regional alliances, and in the case of this cooperation, paved the way for the development of new dynamics in the defense industry.
To conclude, defense cooperation between South Korea and Poland dates back to the Russian-Ukrainian War and has been shaped over time by Russia’s security concerns in the region and NATO’s balance of power strategies. Furthermore, while this will have a positive impact on South Korea’s relations with Europe and the United States, it will lead to different reactions in Asia, especially increased military cooperation among North Korea, Russia and China.
Additionally, this cooperation will reinforce the global security structure and increase the importance of regional dynamics in the alliance of Western powers. Poland’s role in European security strategies as a NATO member and South Korea’s cooperation using its military capacity have brought a new dimension to security strategies in Europe and Asia. This has not only strengthened regional security, but also diversified the understanding of security at the global level and encouraged multipolarity in the name of balancing.
[1] “Polish president voices hope for swift progress in K2 tank deal with S. Korea: Seoul”, Yonhap News Agency, https://en.yna.co.kr/view/AEN20250307001500315?section=national/diplomacy, (Date Accessed: 08.03.2025).
[2] Ibid.
