Agence France-Presse,
Seoul: South Korea has endorsed a 2.7 billion dollar project to develop its own technology to build 3,000-ton submarines, military officials said Thursday. The project was approved late Wednesday at a meeting chaired by Defence Minister Kim Jang-Soo, a ministry spokesman said.
“The project, which starts this year, is aimed at acquiring independent technology for the construction of 3,000-ton submarines,” Major Park Sung-Soo told AFP, adding that the first craft would be commissioned in 2018.
He refused to give any other details.
However, Munhwa newspaper said South Korea would build nine 3,000-ton submarines armed with cruise missiles capable of a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles), by 2029.
South Korea has nine 1,295-ton, 209-Class subs, built by a Germany company, and a 1,800-ton craft, commissioned last year.
A second 1,800-ton submarine will be launched early next month and it plans to build seven more of this class by 2018.
The ministry successfully test-fired a ship-to-ground cruise missile last October.
