Overview
- South Korea’s defense minister Ahn Gyu-back met Stephen Fuhr in Seoul to discuss defense-industrial cooperation linked to Canada’s submarine purchase.
- Fuhr is set to meet President Lee Jae Myung’s chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik on Friday, following their earlier talks in Canada.
- During a weeklong visit, Fuhr toured HD Hyundai’s Pangyo R&D center to review warship and submarine models and AI-enabled autonomous ship technologies.
- Fuhr boarded Hanwha Ocean’s 3,600-ton Jang Bogo-III Batch-II submarine Jang Yeong-sil and inspected Hanwha Aerospace’s K9, K10 and Cheonmu production lines in Changwon.
- The Canadian Patrol Submarine Project, valued at about 60 trillion won, lists Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai alongside Germany’s TKMS, with bids reported due in early March and Fuhr signaling interest in a strategic industry partnership.