Text Fwd: [Exclusive] Lee directs W3 tril. rise in arms buying

Korea Times
[Exclusive] Lee directs W3 tril. rise in arms buying
: Seoul seeking to counter NK’s asymmetrical warfare

By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
05-16-2010 17:20

President Lee Myung-bak has directed an increase in expenditure for weapons systems to cope with North Korea's asymmetrical and irregular warfare, a government source said Sunday.

Lee called for spending 3 trillion won ($2.6 billion) on arms improvement programs, the source said. The President made the decision during the first meeting of a newly established presidential task force for revamping national security and defense plans last Thursday, he said.

"There is a certain need for changes in defense equipment and weapons systems as well as military operations," Lee told the 15-member panel led by Lee Sang-woo, a former professor who now chairs the Defense Reform Committee.

Lee urged the panel to revise the Defense Reform 2020 initiative after reassessing the existing security situation, including increasing threats posed by North Korea's asymmetrical and guerilla tactics.

"Upon the President's direction, defense authorities are expected to review current arms acquisition plans and readjust their priorities," the source told The Korea Times. "The focus will be on how to thwart the North's asymmetrical and irregular operations."

Irregular and asymmetric warfare uses more special forces to conduct operations than regular forces, as well as the unconventional use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons systems.

A Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said President Lee hadn't directed detailed plans on the arms programs, adding the military will decide upon these.

"For example, buying helicopters for maritime and air-to-ground operations will gain speed in order to help prevent the infiltration of North Korean special forces into the South, or to drop our commandos into enemy areas," the source noted.

Other weapons to be affected by a potential increase in defense expenditure would include upgrades of warships' sonar, deployment of a sound surveillance systems (SOSUS) for islands near the sea border, development of three-dimensional anti-air radar and an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) bomb, and the acquisition of bunker-busting bombs, he said.

"On the other hand, arms programs aimed at deterring North Korea's conventional threats could be put on the back burner for the time being," he added, apparently referring to the production of the K2 Black Panther main battle tank and K21 infantry fighting vehicle.

Text fwd: [Exclusive] S. Korea to Transfer UAV, Missile Technologies to UAE

* Image source/ caption
'RQ-101 unmanned aerial vehicle'

Korea Times
01-07-2010 18:10
[Exclusive] S. Korea to Transfer UAV, Missile Technologies to UAE
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter

Korea promised to transfer technology for its unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), following its successful bid to build four nuclear reactors in the Middle East nation, a government source said Thursday.

Defense Minister Kim Tae-young made the commitment during his visit to the UAE in November to discuss bilateral defense issues as well as to support the landmark $20 billion deal, the source told The Korea Times.

Kim also offered to provide key arms technologies related to the homegrown Hyunmoo ballistic and cruise missiles to the UAE as part of efforts to expand defense cooperation between the two countries, he said on condition of anonymity.

Technology on an electromagnetic pulse bomb (EMP) is among the key items for cooperation promised by Korea, said the source.

The state-funded Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has been pushing to develop the bomb capable of neutralizing an enemy's command-and-control, communications and defense radar systems.

EMPs can severely disrupt electronic equipment, which is susceptible to damage by transient power surges. An EMP attack is generated by a very short, intense energy pulse or high-altitude nuclear blast.

The agency plans to complete the development by 2014.

"The UAE asked Korea to provide such key arms technologies as part of the package deal for the reactor contract," the source said. "Korea's positive response to the request played an important role in sealing the deal."

Speculation has been growing after the agreement that there could have been some behind-the-scene promises to satisfy the UAE needs. At that time, Seoul's defense ministry declined to elaborate, only saying the two sides exchanged views on ways to expand bilateral defense cooperation programs.

As for the UAV, Korea will offer the technology on the Night Intruder-300, also known as RQ-101, built by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), according to the source.

KAI built the RQ-101 corps-level battlefield-reconnaissance UAV between 2001 and 2004. The Korean Army bought five sets of RQ-101s, with each set including six aircraft, a launcher and a ground-control station.

KAI is also discussing the sale of the RQ-101 to Libya.

The RQ-101 has a service ceiling of 4.5 kilometers and a cruise speed of 120 to 150 kilometers per hour. The 215-kilogram aircraft has a service radius of 200 kilometers and can operate for up to six hours in the air.

The UAV is capable of multipurpose operations to perform missions like wide area surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, bombing guidance, battlefield supervision and checking target break-down. It is also possible to transfer real-time images, especially in unfavorable environments during day and night.

Some observers say, however, potential exports of the RQ-101 to either the UAE or Libya could cause a political or diplomatic row between South Korea and Israel given the ground-control station for the UAV was developed with technical assistance from Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

IAI offered the technology when it sold its Searcher II UAVs to South Korea.

Referred missile technologies are related to those for the 300-kilometer-range Hyunmoo-II ballistic missile and the 1,000-kilometer-range Hyunmoo-III surface-to-surface cruise missile developed by the ADD and LIG Nex1.

The Hyunmoo-III missiles have been operational with the Army since last year. The Hyunmoo-III can hit targets with a margin of error of plus or minus five meters aided by a Terrain Contour Matching (TERCOM) system.

gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr

Text Fwd: (LEAD) S. Korea to build defenses against nuclear EMP waves by 2014

Yonhap News
2009/07/03 15:07 KST
(LEAD) S. Korea to build defenses against nuclear EMP waves by 2014


By Sam Kim
SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will spend tens of billions of won by 2014 to protect against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) waves unleashed by a nuclear blast, an official said Friday.

The plan for the construction of anti-EMP facilities was recently inserted into a long-term defense reform plan after North Korea went ahead with a nuclear test in May, Brig. Gen. Jang Gi-yoon said.

"The spending will not top 100 billion won (US$78 million)," Jang said in a briefing, declining to be more specific. "The shelters will be like steel safes."

An EMP is generated from a nuclear explosion and can lead to the shutdown of all electronic equipment, including weapons systems operating within hundreds or even thousands of kilometers, Jang said.

He said he was not authorized to share with reporters how many anti-EMP facilities will be set up, but other officials said major political and military structures, including the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and command centers, will be assigned a priority.

North Korea has recently warned of nuclear warfare, accusing the U.S. of harboring war plans and orchestrating international sanctions on Pyongyang. North Korea conducted its first nuclear test in October 2006 and its second on May 25 this year.

Radars will be upgraded to better detect missile launches, Jang said, while the Ministry of National Defense is pushing to introduce drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), from the United States by 2015 to be able to photograph North Korean bases in detail.

North Korea has fired a barrage of short-range missiles -- a threat more alarming to South Korea than longer-range ones -- off its east coast since its latest atomic test.

South Korean and U.S. defense officials say North Korea is pressing ahead with missile development despite U.N. sanctions that have toughened against it over the years.

The international community refuses to classify North Korea as a nuclear weapons state, urging it to drop its arms programs and return to multilateral disarmament talks.

The two Koreas technically remain at war, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.

samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)