S. Korea considers buying second hand US copters
South Korea is considering a US offer to sell secondhand attack helicopters as part of its drive to upgrade military equipment, officials said May 27.
Defence officials said US troops here had offered to sell 36 AH-64 Apache helicopters. Two US Apache battalions are deployed in South Korea.
"It was only reviewed at the working level, but it is being reviewed very positively," Defence Ministry spokesman Won Tae-Jae told Yonhap news agency.
The ministry previously proposed a multibillion-dollar project to develop its own attack helicopters. But it has hit a snag for financial reasons.
"Nothing has been decided, but I do want to make it clear that this will not mean the scrapping of the attack helicopter development project," Won said.
Seoul and Washington have been military allies since the 1950-53 Korean War and about 28,000 US troops are stationed in the country to deter aggression by North Korea.
Source: www.defensenews.com.
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