South Korean Government to Boost Arms Spending on West Sea

South Korea's joint chiefs of staff, defence acquisition programme administration and other military authorities have presented lawmakers with a KRW455.6bn ($395.6m) supplementary budget for emergency weapons procurement.

The military had requested $228.9m for arms spending, but the National Assembly's Defense Committee bolstered the spending by an additional $166.7m after the artillery attack by North Korea.

The new weapons will focus on hardware capabilities for detecting North Korean troop movements, as well as artillery and missile launchers for precision strikes on North Korean artillery hidden in bunkers.

The hardware will include a mid-sized tactical airplane, upgraded unmanned aerial vehicles, Swedish Archer radar systems and sonar detection radars as well as thermal and infra-red imaging cameras, according to The Chosunilbo.

South Korea will bolster detection capabilities along the west coast near the five West Sea islands to provide 24hr surveillance of North Korean troop movements and instantly target the North's artillery positions.

The military is looking into purchasing Israeli-made Spike missiles by 2012, 18 K-9 self-propelled howitzers, K-55 self-propelled howitzers and K-10 ammunition transport vehicles to supply its K-9 howitzers.