Patriot missile battery deployed near Cheong Wa Dae

A launcher for a Patriot surface-to-air missile battery is seen on Mount Bukak near Cheong Wa Dae, central Seoul, Monday. The missile system was recently deployed there to defend the capital area, according to political sources. Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon

By Jung Da-min

A Patriot surface-to-air missile battery has recently been installed on Mount Bukak near Cheong Wa Dae in central Seoul, according to political sources, Tuesday. The battery system reportedly consists of a launcher for PAC-2 (Patriot advanced capability-2) missiles and another one for PAC-3 missiles.

The deployment of the unit in Seoul is aimed at strengthening the defense of the capital. The plan was devised after South Korea allowed the United States to deploy a terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD) battery in Seongju, North Gyeongsang Province in 2017. While the THAAD system has strengthened the defense of the southern part of the Korean Peninsula, concerns have been that defense of the capital area was relatively weak.

A photo taken Monday by the Hankook Ilbo, the sister paper of The Korea Times, showed the launchers, but the military has refused to officially confirm the battery's presence, saying it could not talk about military assets due to security reasons.

South Korea began deploying the Patriot missile defense system in 2008 when it purchased PAC-2s from Germany, and then PAC-3s from the U.S. in 2014, to strengthen the military's ballistic missile defense system.

A PAC-2 missile indirectly intercepts targets by exploding near them at an altitude of around 25 kilometers, a PAC-3 missile directly strikes targets at an altitude of 25 to 30 kilometers.

The military currently operates about 10 Patriot batteries with 40 launchers. According to the 2018 Republic of Korea Defense White Paper, the United States Forces Korea operates about 60 Patriot launchers.

The Patriot missile defense system is part of the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system, one of the three defense systems operated by the South to counter growing nuclear and missile threats from the North. The other two are the Kill Chain preemptive strike, and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR) plan.

The South Korean military is also planning to deploy a PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE), which can strike targets at an altitude of over 40 kilometers, from 2021 to 2023.