(LEAD) S. Korea signs deal with Daewoo Shipbuilding to build new SLBM submarine

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; ADDS more info on SLBM capability in 5th para)

SEOUL, Sept. 10 (Yonhap) -- The arms procurement agency said Friday it has signed a 985.7 billion won (US$853 million) deal with Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Co. to build a new 3,600-ton-class submarine capable of firing submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs).

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration signed the contract Thursday for the second unit of three Changbogo-III Batch-II class submarines that South Korea plans to build by 2029. Construction of the first unit began just last month.

Carrying 50 crewmembers aboard, the 89-meter-long and 9.6-meter-wide submarine will be equipped with improved combat capabilities to better detect and target enemies and partially powered by a lithium battery, the agency said.

It will be designed with nearly 80 percent of its component parts made locally.

The new submarine is also expected to have 10 vertical launch tubes for SLBMs, up from six equipped in the 3,000-ton-class submarine.

The deal comes a month after the Navy received the country's first 3,000-ton-class indigenous submarine, Dosan Ahn Chang-ho.

Also constructed by Daewoo Shipbuilding, the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho was the first of three 3,000-ton-class submarines South Korea plans to build by 2023.

"With world-class capabilities, the new submarine will play a key role as a strategic asset of our country to counter security threats from all directions," R. Adm. Jeon Yong-kyu heading the submarine project at the agency said.

scaaet@yna.co.kr
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