Korea, Malaysia sign MOU on Defense R & D, Enhance Procurement

South Korea and Malaysia on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding to expand cooperation in defense research and development, joint production, and arms procurement.

The agreement was signed during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur, according to Seoul’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA).

DAPA stated that the new framework will allow the countries to cooperate not only on acquisitions but also on the development and manufacturing of defense technologies.

South Korea previously supplied K200 armored vehicles to Malaysia in 1993 and signed a $920 million deal in 2023 to export 18 FA-50 light attack aircraft. With this deal, Seoul now has defense cooperation MOUs with 52 countries as part of its export expansion efforts.

Malaysia has signed only one other similar MOU with a foreign country focused on arms cooperation. The two nations also recently agreed to mutually recognize airworthiness certification for military aircraft, marking South Korea’s first such arrangement with an Asian country.