Vietnam has reportedly expressed its hopes to swiftly procure South Korea’s K9 self-propelled howitzers for its Army. 

According to Seoul’s defense ministry on Thursday, Major General Nguyen Hong Phong, Vietnam's artillery commander, expressed the intent the previous day during his meeting with vice defense minister Kim Seon-ho, who visited a Vietnamese artillery brigade near Hanoi. 
 
The Vietnamese commander reportedly said that he had personally witnessed the excellence of the K9 howitzer when he visited South Korea last year, and if his country purchases the K9, it could be used by the brigade. 

In response, the vice minister stated that the ministry would work to facilitate Vietnam’s purchase of the Korean weapons. 

On Tuesday, Vietnam’s vice defense minister Hoang Xuan Chien also expressed intentions to procure the K9 at the 11th South Korea-Vietnam Defense Strategy Dialogue held in Hanoi.