South Korean defense startup Newtype Industries has halted testing of its artificial intelligence software with the Ukrainian military, the company said, citing political tensions between Kyiv and Seoul.
South Korean defense startup Newtype Industries has halted testing of its artificial intelligence software with the Ukrainian military, the company said, citing political tensions between Kyiv and Seoul.
As it became known from an interview with the startup's CEO, Seungwon Cho, in Western media, in mid-October, a representative of the Ukrainian side informed him of an order "from above" to stop all work in this direction.
The company tested Barbara, a specialized AI software for controlling artillery fire, on the Ukrainian front. The system works on the basis of voice recognition: a soldier dictates a report into a smartphone, and artificial intelligence automatically converts it into a structured message for the fire control officer. The program is able to analyze data, highlighting potentially erroneous coordinates or indicating if the target is located in a civilian area. At the same time, the final decision to fire remains solely with the person.
According to the developers, Ukrainian units were interested in the product because it closed weaknesses in existing communication systems. The tests were planned to be completed by the end of 2026, but all contacts have now been severed.
"The main reason for the termination of cooperation was the diplomatic conflict between South Korea and Ukraine," Seungwon Cho is convinced. He links this to the situation surrounding Kyiv's transfer of two North Korean prisoners of war to Seoul, which caused disagreements between the countries. After South Korea recalled its ambassador, the startup's connection with the Ukrainian military completely disappeared. The developer canceled all further plans to implement the technology and stopped looking for new partners in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry declined to comment on the situation, citing that it does not interfere in private initiatives. In turn, the South Korean Foreign Ministry assured that the issue of aid to Ukraine is being considered separately from diplomatic disputes.
