Text Fwd: Vertical launching system for attack subs developed

A 1,800-ton Type-214 submarine of the South Korean Navy sails in waters off Busan. The diesel-electric sub was built by Hyundai Heavy Industries with technical cooperation from HDW of Germany. After 2018 South Korea plans to build 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines equipped with vertical launching systems that allow a variety of weapons, including long-range cruise missiles, to be deployed. / Courtesy of ROK Navy

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2011/04/205_86282.html
Vertical launching system for attack subs developed
05-02-2011 17:38
By Jung Sung-ki

Korea has developed a vertical launching system (VLS) to be installed on 3,000-ton heavy attack submarines to be deployed after 2018, according to a shipbuilding industry source, Monday.

Hyundai Heavy Industries and Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering are subcontractors for the heavy attack submarines.

It is the first time that the development of a submarine VLS in Korea has been confirmed. The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has already developed one used aboard the 7,600-ton KDX-III Aegis destroyer.

A VLS is a modern type of missile-firing system used aboard submarines and surface vessels of several navies around the world. When installed on an attack submarine, a VLS allows a greater number and variety of weapons to be deployed in comparison to using only torpedo tubes.

Following the development of the VLS for subs, top shipbuilders in Korea and the ADD are also on track to develop an indigenous horizontal tube to launch torpedoes, cruise missiles and mines, the source said.

“The development of a vertical launching system has already been completed, while the development of a horizontal launching system is still under way,” the source told The Korea Times, asking not to be identified. “Developing the horizontal launching tube requires more sophisticated technology than the VLS development.”

The VLS would be used in launching long-range cruise missiles at key targets in North Korea.

The ADD has developed the 500-kilometer-range, ship-launched Cheonryong, which is a modified variant of the surface-to-surface Hyunmoo III-A ballistic missile. The missile range could be extended up to 1,000 kilometers, according to military sources.

The Cheonryong missiles are believed to have already been modified to be installed on Type-214 subs.

South Korea has successfully developed the Hyunmoo III-C surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a maximum range of 1,500 kilometers, following the deployment of the 1,000-kilometer-range Hyunmoo III-B.

With the VLS development, Korea would have an advantage in selling its submarines overseas in the future, the source added.

Currently, the South operates nine 1,200-ton, Type-209 submarines and three 1,800-ton, Type-214 submarines. They are all diesel- and electric-powered and were all built with technical cooperation from HDW of Germany.

As Germany restricts the transfer of key submarine technology, such as launching tubes, Korea would have difficulty exporting any of those locally-built submarines.

The Navy plans to deploy at least three more Type-214 submarines in the years to come.

Beginning in 2018, Seoul plans to build 3,000-ton KSS-III submarines fitted with domestically-built submarine combat systems aimed at automating target detection, tracking, threat assessment and weapons control.

The heavy attack sub will be armed with indigenous ship-to-ground cruise missiles and be capable of underwater operations for up to 50 days with an upgraded Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system.

[단독] 중형 잠수함 수직발사대 개발 완료

정성기 기자

2018년 이후 건조되는 차기 중형 잠수함에 탑재될 국산 수직 발사대가 개발 완료 된 것으로 확인됐다.

KSS-III(장보고 3)라 불리는 3,000톤급 공격형 잠수함은 현재 현대중공업과 대우조선해양이 공동으로 설계하고 있다.

조선업계 관계자에 따르면 이미 국방과학연구소 주도로 잠수함 수직발사대는 개발이 완료됐고 수평발사대 역시 개발 중인 것으로 알려졌다.

이 관계자는 “수직 발사대는 이미 개발됐고 수평발사대는 좀 더 고난도의 기술이 요구되기 때문에 아직 완성하지는 못한 상태”라고 언급했다.

국방과학연구소는 이미 7,600톤 세종대왕함 급 이지스 구축함에 탑재되는 수상함 수직발사대는 개발을 마치고 전력화 한 상태다.

수직발사대는 잠수함과 수상함에 장착돼 어뢰를 포함한 다양한 무기체계를 발사하는 체계이다. 공격 잠수함에 탑재될 경우 장거리 순항 미사일 발사가 가능하다.

우리나라는 이미 현무 탄도 미사일을 개량한 사거리 500키로의 ‘천룡함대지 순항 미사일을 개발한 상태다. 군 소식통에 의하면 성능 개량이 될 경우 국산 중형잠수함에 사거리 1,000키로의 순항 미사일도 장착 가능하다.

국산 수직발사대 개발은 향후 잠수함 수출에도 희소식이 될 전망이다.

현재 한국 해구는 독일 HDW사로부터 기술이전 받아 건조한 1,200톤급 209잠수함과 1,800톤급 214잠수함을 운용 중이다.

하지만 수직발사대를 포함 핵심 무장체계는 기술이전을 받지 못해 수출시 걸림돌이 될 수도 있다는 우려가 컸다.

2018년 건조 시작될 3,000톤급 장수함은 국내 개발된 잠수함 전투체계가 탑재되고 천룡을 비롯한 국산 미사일이 탑재 예정이다. 최신형 AIP시스템을 탑재하고 최장 50일까지 수중 작전이 가능하다.

Photos & Videos Fwd: GM-Daewoo workers' sit-in on high towers for the rights to live

* Image source: Catholics for workers, Incheon, Dec. 23, 2010
인천 노동 사목, 2010년 12월 23, '목숨을 건 GM 대우 부평공장 비정규직 노동자들의 고공농성' (클릭)

See all the images on the struggle by GM-Daewoo workers' struggle

______________________________

Workers' dance on the GM-Daewoo atumobile irregular workers' 6th day of high tower sit-in (Video source)
GM 대우자동차 비정규직지회 고공농성장 6일차 투쟁문화제 노동자 춤, 2010년 12월 6일(비디오 소스)

__________________________________
GM- Daewoo workers having sit-in on the top of CCTV iron tower, Incheon, Jan. 16, 2008
GM대우 노동자 CCTV철탑 고공농성, 2008년 1월 16일 (비디오 소스)

Text Fwd: S. Korea bids to sell warships to Brazil 남한, 브라질에 무기팔러 입찰

Korea Times
11-18-2010

S. Korea bids to sell warships to Brazil

Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering, a leading ship builder in Korea, submitted a proposal for a $4 trillion warship procurement contract in Brazil, a military source said Thursday.

Brazil, which is seeking to beef up its maritime defense of offshore oil deposits, plans to purchase 11 naval ships ― five destroyers, five frigates and a support ship ― the source said.

“The Brazilian navy has been considering purchasing 11 warships in the form of a government-to-government project since June,” the source said. “Specific details for the bid have yet to be publicized.”

The project will take shape after the new Brazilian government is inaugurated in January, he added.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is set to leave office at the end of this year and President-elect Dilma Rousseff is scheduled to take office on Jan. 1.

Italy, France and some European nations are expected to make rival bids for the Brazilian contract, according to the source.

The 4,500-ton KDX-II destroyer would be a favorite for the Brazilian warship project. Korea’s Navy has six KDX-II destroyers one of which is operating in waters off Somalia on an anti-piracy mission.

The KDX-II is equipped with Harpoon ship-to-surface missiles, RAM Mk 31 ship-to-air guided missiles, a 30mm Goalkeeper system for engaging sea-skimming anti-ship missiles and several torpedoes.

The 150-meter-long, 17-meter-wide ship is able to sail at a top speed of 29 knots and carries two Lynx anti-submarine helicopters.

Text Fw: South Korea’s Global Nuclear Ambitions

*Source (same as the below link): Tamsin Carlisle, ‘South Korean companies strike it rich in UAE’, The National (Abu Dhabi), March 2, 2010

Japan Focus

South Korea’s Global Nuclear Ambitions
David Adam Stott

Introduction

“We had been building nuclear power stations for 30 years but had failed in repeated attempts to break into international markets.”

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in a January 2010 radio address. [1]

December 2009 was an historic month for the South Korean nuclear industry. In winning two bidding competitions to design and construct nuclear power plants in the Middle East, it dramatically signalled its arrival as an international force in the sector. The opening announcement concerned Jordan’s first nuclear research reactor whilst the second, and most important, was a massive contract to build at least four nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The South Korean team was one of nine original bidders and beat off competition from France and an American-Japanese consortium from the final shortlist of three. As the USA, France and Japan account for almost half of the world’s total nuclear reactors, this was an impressive achievement, especially since it will be the first nuclear power plant that Korea has exported.

The initial deal with the UAE to construct the reactors is worth around US$20 billion to KEPCO (Korean Electric Power Company) and its partners, whilst Seoul estimates that Korean firms will reap a further harvest of US$20 billion over the 60-year lifespan of the reactors by way of maintenance, servicing and fuel supply contracts. With a total value estimated at around $40 billion, this was the largest contract awarded in the Gulf last year, and the biggest single contract that South Korean firms have ever secured overseas. Indeed,, aside from military hardware, it is likely also the biggest contract ever signed in the Gulf region. Moreover, both sides view the landmark contract as a stepping stone to a much deeper economic relationship in which both countries pour greater foreign investment into the other. Indeed, Abu Dhabi has recently endowed South Korean firms with numerous large contracts to upgrade its petrochemical infrastructure.

* For more reading and maps/ images, click HERE

Text Fwd: [Analysis] Next steps for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions

* Image source/ caption: Same as below

'Anyang City officials from Gyeonggi Province carry out Park Kwang-won, the Anyang branch leader of Korean Government Employees’ Union (KGEU), from the branch office in order to close the office located in Anyang City Office, Dec. 4.'

Hankyoreh
[Analysis] Next steps for the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions:
Despite setbacks from the KRWU strike, KCTU still has plans to hold rallies in December while KMWU has promised to strike if Lee administration labor policy revisions are implemented
Dec.5,2009 12:41 KST

The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) is being forced to go on the defensive. The Korean Railway Workers’ Union (KRWU), one of the umbrella union’s primary sources of power, ended its strike Thursday without gaining any clear concessions, while the legal foundation for the Korean Government Employees’ Union (KGEU) remains unclear. Moreover, the possibility of the KCTU involving itself in labor policy formation has been shut off ever since the ruling Grand National Party (GNP), Ministry of Labor, Korea Employers Federation (KEF) and Federation of Korean Trade Unions (FKTU) have been involved in four-party talks while excluding KCTU from participating.

The Strategy to Exclude KCTU

The recent Lee administration response to pending labor issues appears to be intentionally aimed at excluding KCTU. It has responded rather unusually to the KRWU strike in a pan-government fashion, almost as if it were in a direct fight with the union. Police have been conducting surprise search and seizure raids, Ministers have been issuing joint statements related to the economy and labor issues, and President Lee Myung-bak has been making public statements about the illegality of strikes.

In addition, FKTU has broken off cooperative relations with KCTU and has entered into four-party talks over the largest of pending labor issues, including the multiple union system and the ban on the wage payments to full-time unionists. KCTU had been planning on forming an agenda on major labor issues in solidarity with FKTU, but that has become water under the bridge. It appears that the Lee administration’s siege on the KCTU is complete.

Setbacks during the winter struggle?

Accordingly, the possibility is growing that labor’s big winter struggle set for December may be going nowhere. As FKTU switches its strategies from strikes to negotiations, whether it will maintain plans for participation in a general strike has become unclear. What now remains is that the KCTU may launch a strike on its own, however, the umbrella union’s ability to organize on the ground among its member unions has been deteriorating. The election of a new KCTU chairman is set for next month, and each individual member union is going into election mode.

The overarching theme in the recent labor struggle has been intense pressure by the Lee administration, symbolized by the termination of the KRWU strike. Lee Byeong-hun, chairman of the labor committee of the People’s Solidarity for Participatory Democracy (PSPD), said PSPD had hoped the strike would be resolved positively with the Lee administration correcting its misguided labor policies, but instead, the situation has become more disheartening. Lee added, "Accordingly, unions under the KCTU umbrella are contracting."

KCTU, meanwhile, appears unconcerned. Lee Su-bong, spokesman for KCTU, said KCTU will use the case of KRWU as an opportunity for KCTU to prepare themselves for what might be further pressure from the administration. On Dec. 12, KCTU will hold a rally to oppose the Lee government’s repression of government employees and public sector unions. In addition, on Dec. 16, they plan to hold a 10 thousand-person demonstration in Seoul.

Analysts say whether the Lee government is able to pass revisions to the Labor Union Law pertaining to pending issues, including the multiple union system and ban on wages to full-time union activists, will serve as the watershed in the labor struggle. The Korean Metal Workers’ Union (KMWU), one of KCTU’s core unions, released a statement Friday saying that if the Lee administration starts the ban on wages to full-time unionists in large workplaces, some 90 thousand employees at Hyundai, Kia and GM Daewoo will respond with a general strike.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]


* Related article

Hankyoreh
Ban on wage payments to full-time unionists in South Korea will take effect July 1:
Opposition parties and KCTU calls tripartite agreement to delay multiple union system and introduction of ban on wage payments to full-time unionists a compromise

Text Fwd: Korea to Build Nuclear Research Reactor in Jordan

Korea Times
2-04-2009 18:46
Korea to Build Nuclear Research Reactor in Jordan
By Kim Tong-hyung, Staff Reporter

A Korean consortium was picked to build Jordan's first small-scale nuclear research reactor, the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology said Friday.

The 200 billion won (about $173 million) deal represents Korea's first export of a locally-designed nuclear plant, ministry officials said, and may help the country find a niche in the global nuclear power plant market dominated by countries such as France, Argentina and Russia.

A consortium of the Korea Atomic Energy Institute (KAERI), and Daewoo Engineering and Construction won the bid to build the five-megawatt (MW) reactor at Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST) in Irbid, 70 kilometers north of Amman, with construction expected to be completed around 2014, government officials said.

The consortium edged out three other international companies, including Argentina's INVAP, China's CNNC and Russia's Atom Story Export (ASE) to be named by the Jordan Atomic Energy Commission (JAEC) as the preferred bidder for the project. A formal deal is expected to be inked in March.

"This is the most brilliant achievement so far in the 50-year history of the Korean nuclear industry. The deal will give us a chance to step up as a big-three producer of research reactors along with Argentina and Russia," Ahn Byung-man, minister of education, science and technology, said in a news conference in Seoul.

Ahn downplayed the possibility that the Korea-U.S. Atomic Energy Agreement would create any complications for the Jordan reactor project.

"Since the technology to be exported to Jordan is homemade, and developed for the construction of the HANARO research reactor, there won't any problems," he said.

Research reactors, also called non-power reactors, are nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source and used for research purposes, in contrast to power reactors, which are used for electricity production or submarine propulsion.

The neutrons produced by research reactors are used for non-destructive testing, analysis of materials, production of radioisotopes, research and education.

Currently, there are about 240 research reactors operating around the world, and 50 new units are expected to be completed within the next 15 years, ministry officials said.

Since purchasing the now-retired TRIGA Mark-II from the United States in 1959, Korea has been developing its own technologies for designing and building research reactors. The country unveiled its own research reactor, the 30-megawatt High-flux Advanced Neutron Application Reactor (HANARO), in 1995, and has been seeking export opportunities ever since.

An export of a larger research reactor, around the 20-megawatt level, will be good enough to fetch around 200 to 300 billion won, Lee Jong-min, a KAERI researcher said.

"So 50 new research reactors coming in the next 15 years means that a new market worth about 10 to 20 trillion won will be generated.

Korean companies hope to win a meaningful piece of that market, but considering that the market for research reactors is less crowded than the nuclear power plant side, we will have a better chance to create ourselves a niche," Lee said.

"Although this is our first export in research reactors, we have been gaining experience in the international market over the past years. KAERI has been involved in projects to improve aged research reactors in Greece and Thailand, where we are also cooperating with the country's plans to build new reactors. We are also involved in similar efforts in countries such as Vietnam, South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan.

The reactor in JUST will be used for producing radioisotopes for industrial, agricultural and medical purposes, and will also be used for training local engineers and scientists, the Korean science ministry said.

Jordan expects the research reactor to contribute to its efforts to build its first nuclear power plant, a 1,000-megawatt Generation III reactor planned near Aqaba, sometime around 2015.

The country plans to have four nuclear power plants within the next 30 years, with nuclear power providing up to 60 percent of its energy needs by 2035.

"The current project will require five years and about 700 personnel, and most of the equipment and machinery will be Korean made," said Lee.

"About 97 percent of the whole design and construction process will be based on Korean technology, when calculated in cost. However, the fuel used in the reactor will be purchased from a foreign provider and a Jordanian construction company will be picked to build the reactor based on our blueprint."

thkim@koreatimes.co.kr

* Related article
Yonhap news
2009/12/04 13:36 KST
(LEAD) S. Korean consortium wins bid to build reactor in Jordan
By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Dec. 4 (Yonhap)