South Korea developing an anti-ballistic missile defence system

South Korea has successfully tested a new domestically-produced anti-ballistic missile system which will add a significant new layer of protection against the increasing threat of missile strikes by Pyongyang. Hit-to-kill interceptors destroyed high-altitude targets during the test. Although few details were disclosed by military officials, the success of the long-range surface-to-air missile (L-SAM) has been confirmed by South Korea's Yonhap news agency three weeks after North Korea fired 23 ballistic missiles into the sea in a single day. South Korea has already deployed a lover-level missile defence system, based on a medium-range surface-to-air missile (M-SAM), also called Cheongung II or Iron Hawk which was designed to target ballistic missiles at an altitude of about 12 miles. The new L-SAM interceptor system has the capability to hit incoming missiles at an altitude of between 25 and 60 miles, according to Janes. South Korea first flight-tested the anti-ballistic missile interceptor in February but without a target involved. The L-SAM has been under development since 2019 and is expected to be operational by 2024. With a planned range of about 90 miles it will have the capability to destroy both ballistic missiles and high-flying aircraft. The steady build-up of anti-ballistic missile defence (ABM) systems in South Korea has become more urgent following the unprecedented number of ballistic missiles launched by North Korea this year - more than 60 so far. Last week North Korea test-fired a Hwasong-17 intercontinental ballistic missile which could reach the US. It flew nearly 620 miles for about 69 minutes and reached a maximum altitude of more than 3,750 miles. It was fired from a mobile transporter and was designed to carry a nuclear warhead. The South Korean indigenous missile-defence programme combines with US ABM systems which already protect the country from its neighbour. These are the Patriot PAC-3, the most advanced version of the US theatre air-defence missile, and the THAAD (terminal high-altitude area defence) system operated by the US army. THAAD, first deployed to South Korea in 2017, is capable of destroying ballistic missiles at an altitude of between 90 and 120 miles.