S. Korea Develops Anti-Sub Guided Missile

South Korea has succeeded in developing a guided missile that is fired into the air before releasing a torpedo against a submarine underwater, the Agency for Defense Development said Monday.

The "Korean Anti-Submarine Missile," or KASM, will be deployed on the country's most advanced destroyers starting next year, said the ADD affiliated with the Defense Ministry.

The missile can travel more than 20 kilometers in the air and carries a lightweight torpedo nicknamed ``Red Shark.'' It took nine years for ADD to develop the rocket system.

ADD officials said South Korea became the second country in the world to develop the anti-submarine missile system.

"The missile can hit an underwater target after evading enemy detection. This will contribute a great deal to upgrading our military capability,'' an ADD official said.