S. Korea activates high-mobility combat unit

SEOUL, Feb. 1 (Yonhap) -- The South Korean navy on Monday activated its first
high-mobility combat unit, designed to protect maritime transportation routes,
maintain a defensive posture and support the country's overall foreign policy
aims.

The combat unit, comprised of six destroyers, including South Korea's first Aegis
combat destroyer Sejong the Great, has been designed to conduct missions also on
the open seas and efficiently respond to threats from outside forces including
North Korea, the navy said.
The activation of the unit comes just days after Pyongyang fired a barrage of
live artillery shells for three consecutive days near its maritime border with
the South, prompting the South Korean navy to fire warning shots and warn of
counterattacks.
The 6,700 ton-Sejong warship, commissioned in 2008, led a South Korean military
operation last year that detected and tracked a rocket fired by North Korea,
which claimed to have put a satellite in orbit.
Aegis combat destroyers are capable of monitoring targets hundreds of kilometers
away. Sejong the Great has radars capable of detecting objects about 1,000km
away, and can shoot down targets within a radius of 150km, according to the navy.
"The establishment of the high-mobility unit means that our dream has come true,"
South Korean Navy Chief of Staff Jung Ok-keun was quoted as saying in a press
release. "We believe the unit can effectively protect sea lanes and counteract
possible threats from North Korea."
The establishment of the mobile unit comes 65 years after the South Korean navy
was officially formed in 1945.
South Korea's first amphibious ship transport helicopter 'Dokdo,' as well as
aircrafts and submarines will be joining forces, with two squadrons deployed in
Busan and Jinhae. Another squadron will be deployed in Jeju in 2014 when an
eco-friendly naval base is slated to be built on the island, the navy said.
Rear Adm. Lower Half Lee Beom-lim will head the unit, which was officially
activated Monday following a ceremony held at the Busan naval base.
South Korea plans to have two more Aegis destroyers begin operation by 2012, a
major feat considering the fact that the country had no ships in 1945 following
its liberation from Japanese colonial rule.
South Korea operated only 28 patrol boats during the Korean War. Rapid economic
development has since enabled the country to procure a 14,000-ton amphibious
vessel and a range of submarines and destroyers.
The 1950-53 Korean War ended without a peace treaty, leaving the two sides
technically at war.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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