Jeon Je-guk, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, speaks during the National Assembly’s audit of his agency’s affairs at the government office complex in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 13, 2017. (Image: Yonhap)
GWACHEON, South Korea, Oct. 13 (Korea Bizwire) – South Korea and Indonesia are maintaining a close partnership over a fighter jet development project, code-named KF-X, despite concerns about agreed cost sharing, Seoul’s arms agency said Friday.
Last year, the two countries signed a deal that calls for Jakarta to pay 20 percent of the total cost, estimated at 8.1 trillion won (US$7.1 billion). The program, led by South Korea, aims to develop 4.5th-generation fighter jets by the mid-2020s.
But Indonesia recently changed its stance to a more tepid position and discontinued the allocation of related budgets, according to news reports.
“(We) are in close consultations with the Indonesian government on the issue,” Jeon Je-guk, head of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), told lawmakers during an annual audit of the agency’s affairs. “(We) are trying to resolve the problem.”
Indonesia has informed South Korea that it is also taking internal measures to address the matter, he added.
(Yonhap)
