Warsaw and Seoul close to deal on producing K2 tanks in Poland, Duda says

WARSAW (Reuters) - A deal allowing South Korean K2 tanks to be produced in Poland could be signed in coming weeks, Polish president Andrzej Duda said on Friday, a potential boost for Warsaw's plans to build up its defences.

Poland has been ramping up military spending in response to Russia's invasion of neighbouring Ukraine, and South Korea has emerged as a key arms supplier.

South Korea's Hyundai Rotem, which specialises in industrial and defence contracts, reached an agreement in 2022 to deliver 1,000 K2 tanks, but has so far only signed a 4.5 trillion won ($3.24 billion) contract to export 180 of them.

Poland is hoping to speed up the deployment by getting the tanks produced in its territory.

"I hope that ... in the coming weeks, a fundamentally important agreement will be concluded, the effect of which will be the real Polonisation of the K2 tank, that is locating its production in Poland," Duda told reporters during a visit to the South Korean city of Busan.

"All the main issues have been agreed," he added. "There is still a discussion that has been ongoing recently over the choice between several places where this production would be located."

The announcement came two days after the United States said it had seen evidence that North Korea has sent 3,000 troops to Russia for possible deployment in Ukraine.

The office of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Duda's statement.

On Thursday, the Polish and South Korean leaders agreed to push to finalise a new contract to export South Korean K2 tanks to Poland by the end of the year.

($1 = 1,388.7400 won)

(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Anna Koper in Warsaw, Shin Hyonhee in Seoul; Editing by Andrew Heavens)