U.S. military procurement from S. Korea up 12.6% in 2011

WASHINGTON (Yonhap News) ― The U.S. military purchased more than $1.1 billion worth of South Korean goods and services in the 2011 fiscal year, an increase of 12.6 percent from $991 million in the previous year, according to a report released Sunday.

In its annual report to Congress, based on statistics from the Federal Procurement Data System, the Defense Department said it spent a total of $374 billion for procurement activities for the year until September 2011.

“Of that amount, approximately $24 billion, or 6.4 percent, was expended on purchases from foreign entities,” it read.

The department spent $1.11 billion on supplies, services, fuel and construction from South Korea, making the key Asian ally its 7th largest vendor to the U.S. military.

South Korea’s share of U.S. military procurement also rose from 3.5 percent to 4.7 percent.

In its report for the 2010 fiscal year, the Pentagon purchased goods worth $3,829.25 from North Korea, without offering specifics.

No purchases were reported from the North in 2011.

The report showed 60 countries, including South Korea, bought “significant” military equipment worth $2 million or more each through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system in 2011. The total value of those purchases was $14.227 billion.