Poland has signed an agreement to buy hundreds of South Korean multiple rocket launchers amid efforts to bolster national defense in light of the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Deputy Prime Minister Mariusz Błaszczak, who is also Poland's defense minister, said the K239 Chunmoo systems are comparable to U.S.-made HIMARS launchers, some of which Poland is also buying.

Błaszczak said Poland could not get as many HIMARS as it wanted in a short time, so it turned to a proven partner and friend in South Korea to buy 288 Chunmoo launchers.

South Korean Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Lee Jong-sup said the deal takes cooperation between the two countries to a new level.

In July and September, Poland signed contracts worth billions of dollars to supply tanks, howitzers and fighter jets from South Korea. According to Błaszczak, deliveries of tanks and howitzers have already begun.

The mobile launchers are expected to arrive next year and will be mounted on Polish-made Jelcz trucks.