State-run arms developer to build new missile testing facility amid N.K. threats

SEOUL, Nov. 9 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-run defense research agency plans to construct a new testing facility for arms development as the country seeks to strengthen the "three-axis" deterrence system to counter North Korea's evolving threats, an informed source said Wednesday.

The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) is expected to build the facility at a location near its existing testing site in Taean, 109 kilometers south of Seoul, with an aim of completing the construction in 2026, according to the source.

The national defense committee of the National Assembly has recently approved a proposed budget of some 1.4 billion won (US$1.02 million) to support the start of the construction next year. The project would cost a total of around 35 billion won.

The envisioned facility will be designed to test the country's strategic weapons and beef up the three-axis system in response to North Korea's nuclear and missile threats.

The three-pronged system consists of the Kill Chain preemptive strike platform; the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR), a program to target an adversary's leadership in a contingency; and the Korea Air and Missile Defense system (KAMD).

North Korea has launched a barrage of missiles in recent weeks, including last week's firing of a presumed failed intercontinental ballistic missile, amid growing speculation that it may conduct a nuclear test soon.

sooyeon@yna.co.kr
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