By Kim Young-jin
The military is considering deploying ship-to-surface cruise missiles on a 4,500-ton destroyer patrolling the tense West Sea border, a military source said Tuesday.
"We are reviewing a plan to deploy the Hyunmu-3A missiles on a KDX-II class destroyer by the end of this year," Yonhap News Agency quoted the source as saying.
The remark came as Seoul moved to bolster its defense of the five border islands along the maritime border, the site of two deadly North Korean attacks last year.
The Hyunmu-3A, which has a range of 500 kilometers, is said to be capable of taking out the North's surface-to-ship missile units stationed along the sea border.
"In as much as the ground-to-ship missiles that North Korea has concentrated on the Yellow Sea coast near the Northern Limit Line, threaten our naval vessels, we are responding in kind by pushing plans to position missiles on S. Korean destroyers."
The military is also moving to increase its number of marines from the current 27,000 to as many as 29,000.
Seoul has been busy fortifying its military presence on the islands since last November, when the North shelled Yeonpyeong Island, killing two marines and two civilians in its first attack on South Korean civilian soil since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
The shelling incident came after a multinational investigation found the North culpable for sinking a South Korean warship, killing 46, in March.
The military has deployed additional K9 self-propelled howitzers, guided missiles and other equipment capable of surgical strikes against the North since the shelling.
The source added that the Ministry of Defense is expected to report its plans to augment its capabilities on the islands to Cheong Wa Dae later this month.