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Our top story this lunchtime... South Korea is wasting little time bolstering
its air surveillance system after discovering three probable North Korean drones on its
territory in recent weeks. Seoul wants to buy some seriously advanced
radar systems from Israel... that should help the South Korean military detect any unwanted
visitors in the sky. Our Connie Kim reports.
The discoveries of three suspected North Korean drones in less than a month on South Korean
soil... has prompted Seoul to take action. The government said Wednesday that it would
be adopting Israel's tactical air surveillance radar system.
A government source said an emergency budget of around 19 million U.S. dollars will be
drawn up to purchase 10 low-altitude radars this year.
The RPS-42 radars will be deployed at key government facilities, including the presidential
office and on the west coast next year. The South's current TPS-830K radars aren't
capable of detecting the North's small-sized drones,... but the newly adopted Israeli RADA
system is. It has an altitude range of 10 kilometers
and can detect any object within its range... as small as zero-point-five meters in size.
The Korean military has been under fire for allowing the unmanned aerial vehicles infiltrate
its airspace, which represents a national security threat.
In another effort to boost the nation's military readiness,... Korea has asked the U.S. Defense
Security Cooperation Agency to purchase more than a hundred advanced missiles.
The agency said Tuesday that it had notified Congress of a possible sale of missiles, equipment
and parts to Seoul. Korea plans to buy 76 Sidewinder Block II
All-Up-Round Missiles and 32 Captive Air Training Missiles missiles at a cost of nearly 100
million U.S. dollars... to help counter threats from North Korea.
Connie Kim, Arirang News.