South Korea Developing Anti-Ship Missiles:Report

The South Korean military is developing anti-ship cruise missiles, a news report said Wednesday, after sea trials of China's first aircraft carrier sparked regional security concerns.

Development of the supersonic missiles is expected to be complete in three or four years, Seoul's Chosun Ilbo daily said.

"Fully-fledged research on the development of supersonic anti-ship missiles has been underway at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) for years," the newspaper quoted an unidentified South Korean government source as saying.

"The supersonic anti-ship cruise missile is aimed at defending the country against naval threats from other countries in the region rather than North Korea."

Both ADD and Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration declined to comment.

South Korea to step up security against cyber attacks

South Korea said Tuesday it will step up IT security within the government to fend off cyber attacks from North Korea, which it has accused of mounting a series of strikes in recent years.

Under a presidential decree, 45 officials at 23 government agencies will be appointed to take charge of computer security and emergency planning, the home affairs ministry said.

"This measure is aimed at helping fend off cyber attacks that have been taking place continuously," a ministry official told AFP.

Earlier this month, South Korean prosecutors said North Korean military intelligence launched a cyber attack that paralyzed operations at one of the country's largest banks.

North Korea's defence ministry flatly denied the allegation as "absurd".

Seoul also accused Pyongyang of staging cyber attacks on websites of major South Korean government agencies and financial institutions in March this year and in July 2009.

Pyongyang also rejected those allegations, accusing Seoul inventing the charges to raise tensions.

The North reportedly maintains elite hacker units, prompting the south to set up a specific military command to combat them.

South Korea stages live-fire drill near tense sea border

South Korea's military Wednesday staged a live-fire artillery exercise on an island hit by a deadly North Korean bombardment last November, officials said.

The exercise on Yeonpyeong island near the tense Yellow Sea border began at 9.30 am (0030 GMT) and was scheduled to last about one hour, a defence ministry spokesman said.

Tensions along the disputed border have been acute since the shelling last November 23 killed two marines and two civilians and damaged dozens of homes. It was the first attack on a civilian area in the South since the 1950-53 war.

Pyongyang said it was responding to a South Korean artillery drill which dropped shells earlier that day into waters claimed by the North.

Wednesday's drill was the first since a live-fire exercise on Yeonpyeong last December 20. That passed off without incident despite the North's threats to hit back.

A similar live-fire drill was being carried out Wednesday on Baengnyeong island, the closest one to the North's coastline.

The exercises involve K-9 self-propelled howitzers, Vulcan cannons and 81mm mortars, according to the Marine Corps which garrisons the frontline islands whose defences have been strengthened since last November.

Guns were being aimed southwards, away from the North.

South Korean Ship Sinking Stirs New Interest in Coastal Submarines

According to Forecast International’s “The Market for Submarines” analysis, the torpedoing and sinking of the South Korean corvette Cheonan in March 2010 by a North Korean coastal submarine will prompt a surge of interest in small, low-cost submarines.

The corvette was specifically designed for operations in littoral waters and built with full knowledge of the threat spectrum she would face. Yet, she was blown in half by a torpedo she never saw coming. The force multiplier effect was clearly evident here.

South Korea to receive AEW suits and MWS for CN-235

HAIFA, ISRAEL (BNS): Republic of Korea has awarded a $29 million worth contract to Elisra Electronic Systems, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, for the procurement of Airborne Electronic Warfare (EW) Suites and Missile Warning Systems (MWS) for its ROKAF CN-235 transport aircraft.

"The selection of Elisra's systems by the Republic of Korea, time and again within the last two years, attests to the high level of customer satisfaction and confidence in the company's products and capabilities," Elisra's CEO, Itzhak Gat, was quoted as saying in a news release by the Elbit Systems.

The CN-235 is a high-wing, pressurised, twin turbo-prop plane with STOL performance that can carry a maximum payload of 6,000 kg.