By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The state-funded Agency for Defense Development (ADD) has developed a new rifle that fires special bullets that explode over targets and scatter shrapnel, a report said Tuesday.
``The specially designed bullets blow up over enemy soldiers and disperse deadly fragments,'' the Yonhap news agency reported, quoting an unidentified source. The rifle will be mass produced from next year after test trials, the source said.
The easy-to-carry rifle is equipped with laser scope, as well as optical and night sight functions, he said.
``The development of the rifle is remarkable in terms of its size, weight and fire power,'' the source said. ``The rifle is expected to be a best seller on the global market.''
The rifle will be useful during street battles as the bullets are capable of penetrating walls of buildings, he added.
A few nations, including the United States, Singapore and Sweden, are reportedly developing shrapnel-bullet-firing rifles.