South Korea Considers Supporting U.S. Missile Shield
January 28, 2008 :: Defense News :: News
In an apparent reversal of a long-standing policy, the new South Korean president Lee Myung-bak has voiced a strong desire to participate in the U.S. global missile defense initiatives. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) has recommended the country provide missile launch sites for the U.S. military and buy Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) systems and Standard Missile ship-to-air interceptors to increase interoperability with the U.S. ballistic missile defense network. A senior official within the South Korean JCS said, "The bottom line is that we will go in a direction toward developing our low-altitude intercept shield into an extended missile defense system." Last year, South Korea launched its first of three planned 7,600-ton KDX-III destroyers, the Sejong the Great, equipped with the Aegis combat system and anti-air, land-attack and anti-submarine missiles. Two more ships will be commissioned in 2010 and 2012. However, policy makers warn that such active participation by South Korea may provoke a backlash from regional powers such as China, Russia and North Korea.
(Article, Link)
» More stories on: South Korea, Allies
South Korea Develops Laser Weapons
November 10, 2007 :: AFP :: News
The November 10 edition the South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo reports that the South Korean Defense Ministry is researching and developing a mobile, truck-mounted laser weapon. The weapon, scheduled to be deployed sometime after 2010, would intercept North Korean missiles or long-range artillery shells. It is unclear whether this sort of system might resemble the former joint THEL program of the United States and Israel. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: South Korea
» Missile system details for: Tactical High Energy Laser (THEL)
South Korea Launches Aegis Defense to Combat Arms Race
May 25, 2007 :: News
The same day that North Korea again test-fired several short-range missiles, South Korea launched the first of three new Aegis destroyers equipped with advanced air and sea weaponry. President Roh Moo-Hyun, speaking at the launch of the one-billion-dollar 7,600 ton KDX-III destroyer, said “We cannot sit idle in the face of a continuing arms race in the Northeast Asian region." The destroyer, named the King Sejong, was built with stealth technology, making detection more difficult. South Korea becomes the fifth country after the United States, Spain, Norway and Japan to have the Aegis integrated weapons control system. The South Korean ship will be deployed operationally in 2009. A second Aegis destroyer will be launched in 2010, and the third in 2012. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: South Korea
» Missile system details for: Aegis Ship-Based BMD
Hackett on North Korea, Missile Defense
October 11, 2006 :: Washington Times :: Analysis
The Bush administration is handling North Korea’s nuclear brinksmanship “just right,” argues James Hackett in The Washington Times. It has reacted without histrionics, demanded action by the world community, applied a widening circle of economic sanctions, worked with allies to present a united front, and strengthened missiles defenses. Hackett notes that the North Korean test demonstrates “the folly of those who want to delay deployment of [missile] defenses while conducting interminable flight tests.” He argues that the Bush administration should accelerate deployment of additional ground-based interceptors in Alaska and California, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) interceptors in Japan and South Korea, and ship-based interceptors on U.S. and Japanese Aegis destroyers in the Pacific and Sea of Japan. “The combination of a united front against Pyongyang and the strengthening of missile defenses around the Pacific can keep North Korea isolated while the united front increases sanctions to push the regime toward collapse,” Hackett writes. “It is important to stay the course and ignore those who call for direct negotiations and other concessions.” (Article, Link)
» More stories on: South Korea, Nuclear Weapons, North Korea, Japan, Analysis
» Missile system details for: Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD), Aegis Ship-Based BMD
South Korea Develops New Cruise Missile
September 21, 2006 :: UPI :: News
South Korea has developed a Tomahawk-style cruise missile, reports the UPI. The missile is believed to have a range of approximately 500 km and would be capable of striking almost all of North Korea’s missile sites, including the facility in Musudan-ri from where a set of missiles including a long-range Taepodong-2 was fired in July. The South Korean missile is equipped with a terrain-matching navigation system, as is capable of flying as low as 50 to 100 m to avoid radar detection. According to the South Korean daily JoongAng Ilbo, the new missile was developed jointly by the South Korean military and the state-run Agency for Defense Development. Under a 1979 accord with Washington, Seoul is allowed to develop cruise missiles with no restriction on range as long as its payload is less than 500 kg. South Korea plans to produce additional cruise missiles, to be named “Cheon Ryong” (Sky Dragon), within a year or two for ground or submarine deployment. It is also seeking to develop a cruise missile with a range of 1,000 km within five years. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: Cruise Missiles, North Korea, South Korea
South Korea Launches First Military Communications Satellite
August 22, 2006 :: AFP :: News
South Korea today launched its first military communications satellite, reports the AFP. The Mugunghwa-5 satellite, built by the French company Alcatel, was launched from a ship in the South Pacific off Hawaii. It will be placed in geosynchronous orbit, at 36,000 kilometers (22,000 miles), and will be able to collect surveillance information on North Korea. The Mugunghwa-5 is South Korea’s fourth communications satellite, but the first for military purposes. South Korea has previously had no surveillance system of its own and depended on U.S. airborne reconnaissance aircraft based at Okinawa in Japan. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: South Korea, Space-Based Systems
South Korea to Develop “Black Bomb” Weapon to Target Electricity Sources
August 8, 2006 :: Jane's Information Group :: News
South Korea has announced plans to develop an air-launched weapon to disrupt electrical power lines, electricity substations, and power-generating plants, reports the August 16 issue of Jane’s Defence Weekly. The project, known as the “Black Bomb,” is aimed at producing a weapon similar to the U.S. BLU-114/B, a submunition payload for the CBU-94/B dispenser weapon that causes short-circuits in targeted power lines, rendering them ineffective. The article quotes an unnamed South Korean official, who said that the Black Bomb project should prove particularly effective in incapacitating North Korea’s underground military facilities, if the need for such a strike arose. The program is believed to be headed by the Ministry of National Defense’s main research and development arm, the Agency for Defense Development. In late July, South Korea’s leading producer of ammunition, Poongsan, was selected as the main contractor. (Link)
» More stories on: South Korea
Report: North Korea Building Missile Bases Targeting Japan
August 3, 2006 :: AP :: News
North Korea is building new bases on its east coast, possibly to deploy ballistic missiles against Japan and U.S. forces, according to a state-run South Korean think tank. The report was produced by the Institute of Foreign Affairs and National Security and authored by Yun Deok-min. “New underground missile bases have been built or are under construction around the border with China and along the east coast,” the report said. “[Those] on the east coast could be seen as bases for medium- or long-range missiles targeting Japan and US military bases in Japan.” The report added that North Korea might plan to deploy Taep’o-dong-2 long-range ballistic missiles at the new bases. (Link)
» More stories on: North Korea, South Korea
» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
South Korea Announces New Missile Defense Command
July 16, 2006 :: AP :: News
South Korea plans to set up a missile defense command to counter threats from North Korean ballistic missiles and long-range artillery, reports the AP. According to an official from South Korea’s Defense Ministry, the command will be established between September and October 2006 as part of the army. It will be headquartered in central South Korea, and will control the country’s artillery powers including multiple-launch rocket systems and ground-to-ground missiles. The move follows North Korea’s July 5 test launching of at least seven missiles, including the long-range Taep’o-dong 2. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: North Korea, South Korea
» Missile details: Tien Ma 1
Seoul Downplays North Korean Test, Draws Domestic Criticism
July 10, 2006 :: The Chosun Ilbo (S. Korea) :: News
In recent days, the South Korean government has attempted to downplay the significance of North Korea’s recent missile tests. Lee Baek-man, public relations secretary to South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, yesterday issued a statement saying that North Korea’s actions “should not be made into a national security crisis” even though some may try to make it so “for political motives.” The statement noted that the missiles launched by Pyongyang on Wednesday were “not designed to target anyone in particular,” and warned against “making a fuss like Japan.” Suh Choo-suk, the senior presidential secretary for security policy, attempted to clarify this statement by saying that President Roh is trying “not to exaggerate the security tensions the North’s missile launches have created in the eyes of the public.”
Two major South Korean dailies, Chosun Ilbo and Dong-A Ilbo, however, have strongly criticized President Roh and his government for what they view as an extremely weak response to North Korea’s missile tests. Chosun Ilbo, the largest newspaper in the South Korea, referred to its government’s actions as “effectively disregarding the military threat altogether.” Some critics observed that such actions “fits in only too well with the government’s policy of not provoking the North at whatever cost.” Dong-A Ilbo noted that Pyongyang’s Nodong and Scud missiles, all of which are capable of striking South Korea with nuclear warheads, are more threatening to Seoul than to Washington or Toyko and therefore warrant a commensurate level of condemnation, which has not yet materialized. (Article, Link)
» More stories on: North Korea, South Korea
» Missile details: NHK-1/2, Tien Ma 1
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