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U.S. deploys high-tech radar against N. Korean missile threat

U.S. deploys high-tech radar against N. Korean missile threat

Posted January. 13, 2017 07:11,   

Updated January. 13, 2017 07:33

한국어
The United States has deployed high-tech sea-based X-band radar (SB-X) to keep watch for a potential North Korean long-range-missile launch, CNN reported Thursday. The move was Washington’s first response to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s claim in his New Year’s address that the test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile is in its final stages.

The SB-X is a sea-based maritime radar system whose home port is in Hawaii and often called the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) of the sea. It is equipped with a large radar dome on a deck the size of a soccer field and capable of detecting a baseball-sized object in the air about 2,000 kilometers away. The system can also determine if a missile in midair was launched for a test or actual provocation by analyzing the altitude, size and speed.

Washington expects the radar to increase the U.S. ability to collect that key data about North Korean missile technology or performance if Pyongyang launches one. In addition, the U.S. will not intercept a North Korean missile as long as it does not pose a real threat.



Se-Hyung Lee turtle@donga.com