Bullet trains developed with South Korean technology will be exported abroad for the first time ever, according to a deal struck upon President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to Uzbekistan. 

Amid the attendance of Yoon and Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, South Korean railway vehicle manufacturer Hyundai Rotem Company and Uzbekistan Railways adopted on Friday a deal worth some 270 billion won, or 195 million U.S. dollars for South Korea to provide six railway formations, each consisting of seven trains, to Uzbekistan. 

Under the deal, Hyundai Rotem will provide a total of 42 bullet trains, with a maximum speed of 250 kilometers per hour, in addition to two years-worth of light maintenance and nine months-worth of heavy maintenance and repair services. 

The feat, which will see South Korean-made bullet trains travel on the old Silk Road, comes 20 years after South Korea launched its KTX bullet train services with help from France. 

The presidential office assessed that with the deal, South Korean railway vehicles have begun making inroads into the global market.