Defense agency makes customized weapons vs. NK attacks

Defense agency makes customized weapons vs. NK attacks. August. 31, 2011 05:48. enhanced@donga.com.

North Korea`s long-range guns deployed along the Military Demarcation Line to target South Korea’s capital area can hide themselves in the mountains after firing a couple of shots.

They cannot, however, escape GPS guide bombs, or KGGB, that South Korea has independently developed. Like gliders, the guide bombs climb and pass mountains following signals from satellites to track the Stalinist country’s long-range guns and attack them precisely.

As such, Seoul has developed customized weapons to respond to Pyongyang`s provocations and ward off the North`s localized provocations using its conventional weapons.

Baek Hong-yeol, president of South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development, spoke to The Dong-A Ilbo in Daejeon Monday, his first interview since taking office in May.

“South Korea has come a long way in science and technology over the past decade. This broad technological development has converged with defense technology to generate synergistic effects,” he said, adding, “Based on this, we can develop cutting-edge weapons to prepare for North Korea’s localized provocations.”

The new weapons include the K2 tank Black Panther; the K21, a next-generation infantry armored vehicle; and the K11, a compound rifle capable of attacking enemies hiding behind buildings. New weapons developed over the past decade also include five new weapons developed by the Defense Ministry, such as a guided bomb and next-generation digital weaponry.

Baek said, “The Agency for Defense Development ranks 11th in the world in defense science and technology,” adding, “To prepare for North Korea’s conventional weapons that target the gaps in the cutting-edge weaponry system of South Korea-U.S. combined forces, the development of customized weapons is necessary. We will focus our energy on developing such weapons.”

Baek previously worked for the agency as a researcher and served as president of the Korea Aerospace Research Institute.

He joined the development of the Korean air-to-ground missile Hyunmu at the defense think tank and led the development of the multipurpose satellite KOMPSAT 2 at the aerospace institute.

Baek is an authority on the technology of launching devices, including space rockets and military missiles, and one of a handful of experts specializing in both civilian and military technologies.