For South Korea this visit could be big and not just because of the big ticket items like the T-50 advance jet trainer and the below KT-1 basic trainer but others. South Korea new K-21 IFV, tanks, artillery, EADS helicopter production plant, ship repair, and ship building, are some of the items South Korea could provide for oil rich Libya. Oil prices hit a new $110 a barrels a few days ago before going a down little so Libya could buy a lot.
Libyan Military Delegation Visited Seoul
An 11-man Libyan military delegation met with top military leaders and defense firms in South Korea for a week from March 20, a government source said on Sunday.
The source said a Libyan Defense Ministry delegation led by a two-star general in charge of procurement visited South Korea, calling on Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee and Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) Commissioner Yang Chi-kyu, and visiting about 10 defense firms.
It was the first time since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1980 that Libya has sent a military delegation to South Korea.
The government source said, "The Libyan delegation apparently sought cooperation with Korea in the defense industry. I understand that since it normalized relations with the U.S., Libya has been seeking to purchase weapons from various countries."
Another government source said the Libyan delegation asked for information on radar systems, as well as Korean-style battle tanks (next-generation XK2s), KT-1 basic trainer jets and T-50 advanced trainer jets. The source said DAPA apparently supplied the delegation with the information it wanted.
Libya's annual military spending totaled US$742 million as of 2003. It has about 45,000 army soldiers, about 8,000 navy sailors, and about 23,000 air force pilots and troops.
In early 2004 Libya renounced weapons of mass destruction. Two years later the U.S. struck Libya from its list of state sponsors of terrorism and normalized ties by establishing ambassadorial-level relations
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