South Korea and Peru signed a Framework Agreement on the 9th (local time) for the supply of a total of 195 ground equipment units, including the K2 tank (pictured) and K808 wheeled armored vehicles, according to the Presidential Office and government sources. An agreement was reached to sign an actual export implementation contract next year, marking the imminent export of the K2 tank to Latin America. The government is reportedly expecting export results worth approximately USD 1.8 billion (about KRW 2.6 trillion), which is the largest scale of K-defense exports in the Latin American region to date.

The signing ceremony of the Framework Agreement between Hyundai Rotem and the Peruvian government (Army) was held at the Army Headquarters in Lima, the capital of Peru, presided over by Peruvian President Jose Heri. Lee Yong-cheol, the Commissioner of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, attended as the representative of the South Korean government. According to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, the two countries agreed to sign an implementation contract for 54 K2 tanks and 141 K808 wheeled armored vehicles by next year, setting a milestone for the actual export.

The Framework Agreement includes detailed items such as items, quantities, budget, localization plans, education and training, and logistics support. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration stated, "The Peruvian Army, the ordering party of the project, was included as a party to the agreement and directly participated in the signing." The signing ceremony was made possible by the Peruvian government's official invitation to the South Korean government delegation to events such as the Army Day ceremony presided over by the Peruvian President.

Both sides are expected to engage in practical negotiations, including full-scale price negotiations, to sign the implementation contract. This tank export is part of the Peruvian Army's ground equipment modernization plan to strengthen its defense technology, and the government anticipates achieving export results worth USD 1.8 billion.

The Presidential Office also issued a press release stating, "The scale of ground equipment exports through this Framework Agreement is the largest among defense exports in the Latin American region, and if the implementation contract is successfully concluded, it will be the first case of the K2 tank entering the Latin American market beyond Europe." A Defense Acquisition Program Administration official noted, "Although other ground equipment has been exported to Peru on a very small scale in the past, the export of the K2 tank is the first."

President Lee Jae-myung stated, "I sincerely congratulate the signing of the Framework Agreement on ground equipment with Peru, and I hope it will serve as an opportunity to significantly elevate defense and defense industry cooperation between the two countries," emphasizing, "As Peru has chosen K-defense for its power reinforcement and industrial development, both countries should create a defense cooperation model that can coexist."

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