MISSILES TO INTERCEPT GLIDE WEAPONS

[Anchor Lead]

Hypersonic missiles are known to be difficult to intercept as they fly at a high speed like ballistic missiles, and can glide like a cruise missile. It has been recently found that the South Korean military has begun the development of Korean-type missiles that can intercept hypersonic glide weapons, which North Korea claimed to have successfully developed.

[Pkg]

Back in January, North Korea claimed to have successfully developed a hypersonic missile. The South Korean military has found the missile's maximum altitude surpassed 700km and its top speed was Mach 10.

[Soundbite] (N. Korea Central TV(Jan. 2022)) : "The final test firing has demonstrated the outstanding performance of our hypersonic glide weapons."

Hypersonic missiles are powerful weapons that can turn the tide of war, flying at high speed like ballistic missiles until they reach a certain altitude. After their glide vehicle equipped with a warhead is separated, it can glide like a cruise missile, making it difficult to intercept it. KBS has found the South Korean military has begun the development of Korean-type missiles that can intercept hypersonic glide weapons. The military is looking to upgrade the nation's long-range surface-to-air missiles or L-SAM to L-SAM 2. The project includes not only high-altitude interception missiles with a performance on par with THAAD, but also missiles that can intercept hypersonic glide weapons. Korea is trying to develop an advanced weapon technology that is still under development in the U.S. The South Korean military has also decided to develop the Cheongung 3 surface-to-air missiles, an upgraded version of the Cheongung 2 medium-range weapon system. The new system will have higher altitude and longer range. Once the development is complete, Korea will have its own multi-layer defense system.

[Soundbite] Lee Jong-sup(Defense Minister(Aug. 2022)) : "Currently South Korea doesn't have capabilities to intercept hypersonic missiles. But our goal is to develop those capabilities."

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration will decide on the cost of L-SAM2 and Cheongung 3 missiles as well as the time of their deployment by the first half of 2023.