S. Korea mulls beefing up own missile defense

By Yi Whan-woo

The South Korean military is considering introducing ship-based Standard Missile-3 (SM-3) interceptors to make up for shortcomings of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery that was fully deployed here, Thursday.

SM-3 is capable of shooting down ballistic missiles at altitudes of 150 to 500 kilometers, while THAAD was designed to counter incoming ballistic missiles at altitudes ranging from 40 to 150 kilometers.

Therefore, SM-3, if introduced, can cover the “blind zones” that cannot be reached by THAAD and help more in defending Seoul and the surrounding areas.

THAAD may not be able to intercept North Korea’s long-range ballistic missiles if they were fired deliberately at a lofted trajectory to strike the South Korean capital without being tracked by THAAD.

“We’re thinking of building a multi-layered missile defense system and introducing SM-3 can be a part of the plan,” Defense Minister Song Young-moo said during a joint briefing with the interior and environment ministries in Seoul, Thursday.

The briefing was held to answer questions remaining about THAAD, such as its reliability and whether an additional THAAD battery will be needed to better defend Seoul.

An analyst agreed with the government’s plan to introduce SM-3. “It can be compatible with THAAD,” said Shin In-kyun, president of the Korea Defense Network.

“It’s possible for SM-3 to detect North Korean missiles using THAAD’s radar and it will obviously help in enhancing the missile defense system here.”

Shin also agreed with Song’s view on introducing SM-3 as a part of the plan to build the country’s own Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system.

The low-tier KAMD, using land-based PAC-2, PAC-3, M-SAM and L-SAM missiles, is aimed at tracking and shooting down North Korean ballistic missiles at altitudes of 20 to 60 kilometers.

In related efforts, South Korea pushes to build three new Aegis destroyers by 2020 in addition to its three existing ones. And Song said he is considering equipping the new destroyers with SM-3.

This suggests South Korea can handle lower- and upper-tier missile defense on its own, with U.S. support in covering the middle tier using THAAD.

Shin also said SM-3 can be effective against a possible North Korean electromagnetic pulse (EMP) attack from high altitudes.

Following Pyongyang’s sixth nuclear test, Sunday, Pyongyang’s state-controlled Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) claimed its purported hydrogen bomb has “great destructive power which can be detonated even at high altitudes for super-powerful EMP.”