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Is South Korea Stealing U.S. Military Secrets?
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel watched a live-fire exercise in South Korea last month in which American and Korean tanks operated side-by-side in a display of military might between two trusted partners fond of describing theirs as a "blood alliance."
But just beneath that relationship's surface is a growing unease. South Korea, one of America's strongest partners in East Asia, is aggressively targeting U.S. advanced technology for its own use in a variety of Korean weapons programs, Foreign Policy has learned. From anti-ship missiles, electronic warfare equipment, torpedoes, a multiple-launch rocket system, and even components on a Korean-made Aegis destroyer, the United States is concerned about the uncanny resemblance those systems bear to American weaponry. Even the tanks Hagel watched on the range that day may be partial knock-offs: The Korean models have fire control systems that appear to be all-but-identical to the American versions.
Though the United States long has had systems in place to monitor technology-sharing with allies, the case with South Korea has become particularly acute in the last few years. As the United States pivots East and Asia's once sleepy defense industries begin to awaken, it has quietly begun to scrutinize its technology-sharing relationships with such allies, conducting secret but robust "dialogues" -- diplomatic-speak for a series of private exchanges on tech-sharing between the two countries -- to ensure that American secrets stay that way.
That's particularly true of South Korea, which on Sept. 30 celebrated the 60-year anniversary of the mutual defense treaty with the United States. The Koreans hosted Hagel for two large military parades, followed by a gala evening event with fruit drinks the color of the Korean flag, glowing speeches about the alliance, and much talk of katchi kapshida -- "we stand together."
But the United States is watching closely as the South Korean defense industry shoots for a larger market share. The country is gaining a reputation for gleaning as much as it can from American advanced technology, exploiting any opening it sees. The very fact that discussions are underway with South Korea is a sign of the level of concern, an administration official says. As the Obama White House counters mounting worries among European allies that it is listening in on top leaders' conversations, the United States is also scrambling to make sure South Korea isn't absconding with the secrets that have made American defense platforms world-class.
The South Koreans are known for making knock-offs and improving upon them. But from a variety of Korean-made sensor equipment, anti-ship missiles, and electronic warfare systems, the United States sees the Koreans going after American technology and, potentially, copycatting it.
"They are very good at taking full advantage of any loopholes with any type of agreement," a former government official who worked in Seoul told FP.
That's problematic on several levels. Not only could Seoul sell its newly-acquired advanced weaponry to another country that could use it against American interests, but proprietary American technologies could be sold by other countries to undermine the American defense industry. That would come just as the U.S. industry confronts the biggest shrinkage of Pentagon dollars in more than a decade and is looking to diversify its markets overseas.
Hagel stood there that day at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Korea with his senior military assistant, Lt. Gen. Robert "Abe" Abrams, after whose father the famous American tank was named. The South Koreans's K1 tank was based on the design of the Abrams, but the Koreans have added their own touches, from a hydro-pneumatic suspension and torsion bars to a fording kit for crossing rivers. The newest version of the K1 tank, the K1A1, possesses upgrades that include a 120mm smoothbore gun, updated electronics, and a top-of-the-line fire control system to improve accuracy and effectiveness. But the irony of the joint exercise designed to put the relationship on display may not have escaped either Hagel or Abrams as they stood there that day. American officials fear that fire control system aboard the K1A1 tank is essentially a rip-off of its own technology, which, if true, would represent a theft of a sensitive -- and marketable -- capability.
Ditto for the Koreans's Haesung anti-ship missile, first developed in the late 1990s to be better than the American-made Harpoon anti-ship missile. Again, American defense officials have raised concerns with the Koreans that the technology upon which the Harpoon missile is based is very similar to the American technology.
Read more at: Is South Korea Stealing U.S. Military Secrets? - By Gordon Lubold | Foreign Policy
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel watched a live-fire exercise in South Korea last month in which American and Korean tanks operated side-by-side in a display of military might between two trusted partners fond of describing theirs as a "blood alliance."
But just beneath that relationship's surface is a growing unease. South Korea, one of America's strongest partners in East Asia, is aggressively targeting U.S. advanced technology for its own use in a variety of Korean weapons programs, Foreign Policy has learned. From anti-ship missiles, electronic warfare equipment, torpedoes, a multiple-launch rocket system, and even components on a Korean-made Aegis destroyer, the United States is concerned about the uncanny resemblance those systems bear to American weaponry. Even the tanks Hagel watched on the range that day may be partial knock-offs: The Korean models have fire control systems that appear to be all-but-identical to the American versions.
Though the United States long has had systems in place to monitor technology-sharing with allies, the case with South Korea has become particularly acute in the last few years. As the United States pivots East and Asia's once sleepy defense industries begin to awaken, it has quietly begun to scrutinize its technology-sharing relationships with such allies, conducting secret but robust "dialogues" -- diplomatic-speak for a series of private exchanges on tech-sharing between the two countries -- to ensure that American secrets stay that way.
That's particularly true of South Korea, which on Sept. 30 celebrated the 60-year anniversary of the mutual defense treaty with the United States. The Koreans hosted Hagel for two large military parades, followed by a gala evening event with fruit drinks the color of the Korean flag, glowing speeches about the alliance, and much talk of katchi kapshida -- "we stand together."
But the United States is watching closely as the South Korean defense industry shoots for a larger market share. The country is gaining a reputation for gleaning as much as it can from American advanced technology, exploiting any opening it sees. The very fact that discussions are underway with South Korea is a sign of the level of concern, an administration official says. As the Obama White House counters mounting worries among European allies that it is listening in on top leaders' conversations, the United States is also scrambling to make sure South Korea isn't absconding with the secrets that have made American defense platforms world-class.
The South Koreans are known for making knock-offs and improving upon them. But from a variety of Korean-made sensor equipment, anti-ship missiles, and electronic warfare systems, the United States sees the Koreans going after American technology and, potentially, copycatting it.
"They are very good at taking full advantage of any loopholes with any type of agreement," a former government official who worked in Seoul told FP.
That's problematic on several levels. Not only could Seoul sell its newly-acquired advanced weaponry to another country that could use it against American interests, but proprietary American technologies could be sold by other countries to undermine the American defense industry. That would come just as the U.S. industry confronts the biggest shrinkage of Pentagon dollars in more than a decade and is looking to diversify its markets overseas.
Hagel stood there that day at the Rodriguez Live Fire Complex in Korea with his senior military assistant, Lt. Gen. Robert "Abe" Abrams, after whose father the famous American tank was named. The South Koreans's K1 tank was based on the design of the Abrams, but the Koreans have added their own touches, from a hydro-pneumatic suspension and torsion bars to a fording kit for crossing rivers. The newest version of the K1 tank, the K1A1, possesses upgrades that include a 120mm smoothbore gun, updated electronics, and a top-of-the-line fire control system to improve accuracy and effectiveness. But the irony of the joint exercise designed to put the relationship on display may not have escaped either Hagel or Abrams as they stood there that day. American officials fear that fire control system aboard the K1A1 tank is essentially a rip-off of its own technology, which, if true, would represent a theft of a sensitive -- and marketable -- capability.
Ditto for the Koreans's Haesung anti-ship missile, first developed in the late 1990s to be better than the American-made Harpoon anti-ship missile. Again, American defense officials have raised concerns with the Koreans that the technology upon which the Harpoon missile is based is very similar to the American technology.
Read more at: Is South Korea Stealing U.S. Military Secrets? - By Gordon Lubold | Foreign Policy
to this great alliance. The Koreans would
with both hands
