Asia-Pacific News

South Korea considering building own missile shield

Dec 20, 2006, 15:38 GMT

Seoul - South Korea is considering building an independent anti-missile shield because of the potential threat posed by North Korea, reports quoted the country's military as saying Wednesday. The system would be part of efforts to improve the defence readiness of the South Korean military as a result of missile and nuclear tests by North Korea. The system would aim to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles in low-level flight, a military spokesman said. In July Pyongyang test-fired long-range rockets. In October the country carried out an underground nuclear test. The South Korean system would be independent of the joint missile shield being developed between the US and Japan, which is expected to cost between 8 trillion and 10 trillion won (8.7 billion-10.8 billion dollars). 'So it would be impossible to win public consent to join the programme given our current defence budget,' a source told the Korea Herald. Modern radar systems and missiles are to bought from the US and other countries, the paper reported. © 2006 dpa - Deutsche Presse-Agentur

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South Korea considering building own missile shield

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