By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
The Navy has launched two more high-speed guided-missile patrol boats to bring the number of Patroller Killer Guided (PKG)-class boats to seven, Navy officials said Friday.
The latest two boats were set afloat Wednesday at a dockyard of Hanjin Heavy Industries in Busan, they said.
One of the boats was named after Park Dong-hyuk, a sailor killed in a 2002 naval skirmish with the North Koreans.The lead PKG boat ― Yoon Young-ha ― has been operational with the Navy since December and four other boats will begin service in stages beginning in September.
The PKG class vessel is armed with 140-kilometer-range Haeseong ship-to-ship missiles and a 76-milimeter gun with a range of 16 kilometers.
The 63-meter-long, 9-meter-wide ship is also equipped with a 40-milimeter gun that can fire 600 rounds per minute and has a maximum speed of 40 knots. The ship has advanced anti-air/anti-ship radar and electronic warfare systems.
Its combat system enables the ship to simultaneously detect and monitor up to 100 aerial and surface targets, while its automated weapons control system allows it to engage a multiple number of targets at the same time.
The boat can sail at a maximum speed of 74km per hour while carrying 40 crewmen.
The Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea has served as the de facto maritime border between the two Koreas since the 1950-53 Korean War. North Korea refuses to recognize the line.
The disputed sea border has been the scene of deadly naval clashes between the two Koreas, in 1999 and 2002.
In the first battle, South Korea suffered no casualties, while North Korea supposedly lost dozens of soldiers. In 2002, six South Korean soldiers lost their lives.
In March this year, a South Korean frigate was sunk by North Korea’s alleged torpedo attack in the area.