Seoul, Nov 18 (IANS): Over 80 per cent of South Korea's 100 trillion won (US$90 billion) budget set aside for boosting defence capabilities over the next five years will be spent on buying locally made weapons and hardware, rather than imports, to help boost the local defence industry, Defence Minister Suh Wook said Wednesday.

Suh made the remark in a congratulatory message at a defence expo, DX Korea 2020, held in Goyang, just northwest of Seoul, calling the industry a driving force for economic growth and a basis for strong national defence, Yonhap news agency reported.

In August, the government announced a defence blueprint for 2021 to 2025 to spend a combined 300 trillion won, with a third of the total allocated for improving defence capabilities. The remainder was set aside for force management.

"We will actively push for policies to nurture the defence industry and beef up tech cooperation between the private sector and the military for development of eight core defence strategic technologies, including the intelligent command and control system," the minister said.

At the expo, Suh held his first meeting with CEOs of the country's leading defence companies and vowed support for the industry, his office said.

Hosted by the Association of the Republic of Korea Army, the three-day expo, which will run through Friday, specializes in displaying land forces equipment with the participation of some 200 companies from 11 countries, organisers said.