Korean media: Baltic country Estonia's defense minister says "Russia is a threat to Europe... coming to South Korea to purchase the most advanced weapons"

¬ Exclusive interview with Estonia's Minister of Defense

"Peace cannot be guaranteed, it must be fought for every day."

Recently, Estonia's Minister of Defense, Hannu Pevkur, visited South Korea. In an interview with this newspaper, he said, "Geographical conditions cannot be changed, so we must face the reality of the existence of an adversarial neighbor (Russia). The goal is to obtain the most advanced and quickly available equipment."

Pevkur signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the South Korean Ministry of Defense regarding the procurement of the multi-barrel rocket launcher "Cheonma." In 2018, Estonia first signed a contract to import the K9 self-propelled howitzer from South Korea and hopes to add more procurements of South Korean-made weapons. Pevkur stated, "We plan to use the MOU as a starting point to discuss further cooperation plans in defense and military industries, such as joint production of warships," and "The technology of Estonia and South Korea will create new values and opportunities for each other."

Estonia, along with Lithuania and Latvia, is one of the three Baltic countries in northeastern Europe. Its area is only half that of South Korea, and its population is only 1.37 million. However, it has a land border of nearly 300 kilometers with Russia, and its sense of security crisis is stronger than any other country. After Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Estonia reached a cross-party consensus to significantly increase its defense budget. By 2026, the defense budget will exceed 5% of GDP, which is three times higher than four years ago. Additionally, Estonia also allocates 0.25% of GDP to support Ukraine.

Pevkur stated, "Estonia will not have the illusion that 'Russia will become a friendly neighbor.'" Having experienced the period of Soviet occupation, Estonia has had the experience of greatly losing national strength. He said, "From the 1940s after World War II until independence in 1991, the per capita GDP in Soviet-ruled Estonia was halved. Compared to Finland, which had an economic level equivalent to that before the occupation, the gap widened by nearly ten times," and "No Estonian citizen wants to experience that again." He also said, "Looking at Putin, one can see his ambition to rebuild the Russian Empire," and "Russia has been, is, and will always be a threat to Europe."

Pevkur said, "I think that on the determination to constantly pursue better things and the belief in technology, Estonia and South Korea are very similar." He said, "In fields such as defense industry, automobiles, and electronics, South Korea is a very powerful country." Estonia introduced Skype and electronic voting to the world 20 years ago and expects to help South Korea in smart technology areas such as cybersecurity and electronic voting.

Source: Chosun Ilbo

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1847198227138624/

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