S. Korea to deploy remote-controlled mines by 2013

SEOUL, Jan. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea plans to develop and deploy
remote-controlled mines along its heavily guarded border with North Korea by
2013, a defense official said Tuesday.
The so-called spider mines will be developed by 2012, the official speaking on
condition of anonymity said, helping to compensate for a gradual reduction in
South Korean troops.
South Korea has 660,000 troops but plans to reduce the number to 500,000 by 2020,
voicing confidence its advanced defense technology will make up for the gap.
"Less soldiers will patrol the border, but the mines will serve as effective
impediments to enemy mobility," the official said, adding a South Korean company
will lead the development of spider mines.
The official added the devices fall in line with a world treaty banning
antipersonnel landmines because their detonation can be controlled.
The two Koreas fought the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce rather than a
peace treaty. North Korea, which tested its first atomic bomb in 2006, has a
1.1-million-strong army, but experts say many of its conventional weapons are
worn out.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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