Israel has expressed an interest in buying four frigates from South Korea and plans to send a team of its officials to Seoul next month to pursue a potential deal, a Seoul official said Saturday.

"Israel recently expressed an interest to buy four frigates," said the official at the state-run weapons procurement agency, Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). 

The official said Israel will "send its due diligence team to two South Korean manufacturers of warships in the middle of next month."

The 1,400-ton frigates under negotiation with Israel are said to be priced at about US$100 million each. The DAPA official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said Israel would deliver its letter of intent for a potential deal
to the South Korean government as late as next month. (Yonhap News)