South Korea getting US missiles to boost defences: Report

[I-G]

South Korea getting US missiles to boost defences: Report

Seoul, June 28: South Korea is acquiring 40 US-made missiles for an Aegis destroyer this month to boost its defences amid reports North Korea may soon test-fire missiles, Yonhap news agency on Sunday quoted a military source as saying.

North Korea, which rattled regional security with a May 25 nuclear test, is preparing to test a long-range missile that could hit US territory and mid-range missiles that could hit all of South Korea, a South Korean presidential Blue House official said last week.

The surface-to-air missiles for the Aegis destroyer, designed to track and shoot down objects including missiles, can hit targets up to 160 km (100 miles) away, Yonhap quoted the source as saying.

North Korea has also warned ships to stay away from waters off its east coast city of Wonsan, Japan's Coast Guard said last week, in a possible indication of a missile test.

North Korea launched in April a rocket it said was carrying a satellite. The move was widely seen as a disguised test of its long-range Taepodong-2 missile and a violation of UN resolutions barring the reclusive state from ballistic missile testing.

The UN Security Council punished it for the missile launch by tightening existing sanctions and imposing new ones after the nuclear test to halt its arms trading, one of the few items the cash-short state with a broken down economy can export.

The US Navy has said it is monitoring a North Korean ship under the new UN security resolutions imposed after the nuclear test. A South Korean intelligence source said the ship is likely carrying missiles and parts, and it could be heading to Myanmar, broadcaster YTN said.

At the weekend, the prickly North warned in an official media report it would shoot down any Japanese military plane that breached North Korean air space.

South Korean officials have said the North's recent sabre rattling may be a way for leader Kim Jong-il to build internal support as he prepares for succession in Asia's only communist dynasty.

South Korea : US missiles to boost defences

 

[nitesh]

S. Korea Investigates Malfunctioning Missiles - Defense News

SEOUL - South Korea's Navy has launched an investigation into problems with three types of naval missiles built by foreign manufacturers, a ruling party lawmaker said Oct. 12.

In 23 test launches over two years, Raytheon SM-2 Standard anti-air missiles, Boeing Harpoon anti-ship missiles and MBDA Sea Skua lightweight anti-ship missiles collectively displayed an accuracy rate of below 80 percent, said Rep. Yoo Seung-min of the Grand National Party, who cited a report submitted by the Navy for a parliamentary inspection.

The tests took place from July 2008 through July 2010, Yoo said.

Three of the nine test-fired SM-2s failed to hit their targets, as did one out of 12 Sea Skuas and one out of two Harpoons.

The Navy concluded that the SM-2 failures were caused by poor control by operators and defects in spare parts, and plans to scrutinize about 130 SM-2s in operation, the report said.

The service concluded that the Sea Skua had failed because of spare part problems, according to the report. Its investigation revealed that the coupling pin on the upper part of the Sea-Skua had defects. The service replaced the coupling pins of some 90 Sea-Skua missiles with new ones. It asked MBDA to repay 1 billion won (about $880,000) for the failed missile, but the British defense firm refused, citing the expiration of a one-year guarantee, according to the report. The report said Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration plans to request the Korean Commercial Arbitration Board to meditate the dispute.

The Navy concluded that the wing parts' malfunction caused the Harpoon failure.

The service asked the U.S. Navy to look into the problem. A joint team of South Korean and U.S. investigators plans to examine 10 Harpoon missiles by year's end, the report said.

"The missiles were introduced on the assumption that their accuracy rates could be nearly 100 percent," a South Korean Navy spokesman said. "We'll look into the problems thoroughly and clarify who's responsible."