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A New York Times report on 2014 US foreign arms sales

Last year, South Korea was the world’s largest importer of weapons, a US government report shows, which is an inevitable result of South Korean President Park Geun-hye’s emphasis on providing a military deterrent to North Korea. This prompts the criticism that, ultimately, the only winners of this policy are the world’s arms manufacturers.

On Dec. 26, the New York Times reported that South Korea had signed arms contracts worth US$7.8 billion in 2014 - more than any other country - citing a report by the US Congressional Research Service (CRS).

Around US$7 billion of the weapons purchased by South Korea, which include unmanned surveillance aircraft and transport helicopters, are of American manufacture, the newspaper reported.

After South Korea, Iraq purchased US$7.3 billion worth of weapons to strengthen its military after the withdrawal of US forces. Brazil was ranked 3rd on the list, purchasing US$6.5 billion of weaponry, including aircraft made in Sweden.

The world’s biggest exporter of weapons - controlling more than 50% of the market - is the US. US arms exports amounted to US$36.2 billion, about a 35% increase from the US$26.7 billion sold the previous year. Along with South Korea, the US’s primary clients included Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Given that global arms sales only increased slightly - from US$70.1 billion the previous year to US$71.8 billion last year - US arms manufacturers seem to have done pretty well in that period.

The world’s second largest arms exporter, Russia, sold US$10.2 billion worth of weapons last year, down slightly from the US$10.3 billion it sold the previous year.

While predicting that competition would intensify with the international arms market enjoying slow growth overall, the report said that the US would maintain its overwhelming market dominance in developing countries for several years to come.

By Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]