South Korea will spend tens of millions of dollars to build up defenses against any North Korean nuclear attack, AFP reported Friday, quoting the Defense Ministry.
North Korea has vowed to build more nuclear bombs in response to a U.N. resolution which imposed sanctions for its May 25 nuclear test, the second since 2006.
The South will spend up to 100 billion won ($78 million) over the next five years to protect key facilities against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) waves from high-altitude nuclear explosions, according to AFP.
Such waves _ used as a prelude to an all-out attack _ could shut down electronic equipment including weapons systems within tens or even hundreds of kilometers.
"The spending will not be higher than 100 billion won," Brigadier General Jang Gi-Yoon told journalists. He declined to give details on where such anti-EMP facilities will be built.
Their construction is part of a five-year defense plan for 2010-14 that calls for total spending of 178 trillion won.
The ministry also allocated 8 billion won in next year's budget to buy Global Hawk unmanned high-altitude spy planes one year earlier than previously planned, AFP said.
Another 64 billion won was earmarked to buy "bunker buster" bombs by next year, four years earlier than planned.