An unmanned border surveillance system Korea plans to introduce to beef up its defense against North Korea had a series of malfunctions and breakdowns in recent tests, a lawmaker said Wednesday.
Korea plans to spend about 150 billion won ($135 million) to install the "scientific guard system" along its border with North Korea by 2015 to better guard against possible infiltrations.
The urgency for such a system increased recently following revelations that South Korean troops became aware of a North Korea soldier's defection across the border only after he scaled rows of barbed wire and knocked on the door of a front-line South Korean barracks.
A surveillance camera installed at the guard post was not working at the time of incident.
On Monday, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin publicly apologized and pledged to put the highest priority on border security and complete the introduction of the high-tech guard system as early as next year.
However, lawmakers said during a parliamentary audit of the Army on Wednesday that such a system is not enough to prevent the recurrence of such incidents in border areas that are thickly covered with trees and bushes.
According to Rep. Jin Sung-joon of the opposition Democratic United Party, an inspection team tested surveillance cameras and censors at a front-line unit from December 5 to September 24 as part of the project, but the equipment did not function properly and showed errors in its alarm system and software.
Two local firms provided the equipment, one of whom had a record of failing to pass a similar test at another Army division.
Rep. Yoo Jung-bok of the ruling Saenuri Party also pointed out the insufficient qualifications of the contractors.
"If the military pushes for this project with unresolved problems, there are risks that the border areas could be exposed to holes," Yoo said.
Defection via land border has been considered rare as the border area is guarded by combat-ready troops on both sides and is laced with rows of barbed wires.
This year alone, however, three soldiers from the communist nation have made their way across the heavily armed border, according to the defense ministry. The third of the North Korean soldiers defected to Korea via the land border after reportedly killing two of his officers just days after the Oct. 2 border crossing.
The two Koreas remained divided by the 4-kilometer-wide Demilitarized Zone since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)
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