By Josh Smith SEONGNAM, South Korea (Reuters) -South Korea kicked off its largest-ever arms fair on Friday, with firms expected to show off new unmanned and artificial intelligence-enhanced weapons from howitzers to suicide drones, as Seoul seeks to strengthen its military and pursues more global defence sales. Organisers said a record 600 companies from 35 countries were scheduled to participate in the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2025. This year's ADEX kicked off with three days of public air shows at an air base, including flights by its newly developed KF-21 fighter jet. The festivities will be followed next week by business exhibitions at a sprawling conference centre. Earlier this month, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung said that the country's defence budget for next year would rise 8.2% to 66.3 trillion won ($47.1 billion) as it faces more tensions around the region and a nuclear-armed North Korea. Foreign dignitaries were invited to Pyongyang earlier in October to tour North Korea's arms exhibition, which included drones and nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, followed by a grand military parade. Arms have become one of South Korea's fastest-growing exports, as it has inked multibillion-dollar deals selling everything from howitzers and ammunition to missiles and warships around the world. At this year's ADEX, Hanwha Aerospace said it would unveil next-generation versions of its popular self-propelled K9 howitzer that use automation and AI to reduce or eliminate the need for a crew. In addition, the company said it would showcase its L-PGW, a missile-launched loitering munition – also known as suicide drone – which can circle an area before using AI to identify and destroy a target. Unmanned weapons and AI will provide more capabilities and help South Korea maintain its defences, despite a shrinking population that will reduce the number of available soldiers, Hanwha said in a statement. Seok Jong-gun, the minister for the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, told parliament on Friday that its focus included developing and modernizing manned and unmanned weapons systems, while expanding its defence export markets in cooperation with the U.S., Canada, Saudi Arabia and others. “We will pursue entry into the global supply chain by expanding cooperation with the U.S. in defence shipbuilding," he said. South Korea's shipbuilding cooperation with the U.S. has become a flashpoint with China, which unveiled sanctions on Hanwha Ocean's U.S.-linked affiliates earlier this week. (Reporting by Josh Smith; Additional reporting by Jack Kim; Editing by Thomas Derpinghaus.)
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