S. Korea makes headway in defense technology for cloaking, rockets

(ATTN: RECASTS headline, lead; TRIMS; ADDS details on rocket technology, background
on institute in last 3 paras)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL, March 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's leading weapons development institute
said Tuesday it has developed cloaking substances for warships and aircraft and
launched a new study into rocket technology.
The state-run Agency for Defense Development has developed five different types
of "stealth material" that can hamper enemy efforts to fully identify South
Korean units, its chief researcher said.
"The military has endorsed the technology, which satisfies about 70 percent of
stealth requirements," Lee Hyo-jong told reporters at the Ministry of National
Defense. The ministry began implementing the technology this year.
"It has proven quite effective," he said, adding a destroyer could be mistaken
for a fishing boat by an enemy radar if the technology is used.
The indigenous technology has been under research since 1999, Lee said, adding
over 9 billion won (US$6 million) has been spent on its development.
Lee said the material is expected to be applied to ground weapons systems, but
did not elaborate. South Korea has some 655,000 troops with about 120 battleships
and 490 fighter jets.
Shin Dae-whan, director of planning and programming, said his organization has
also recently begun to work on technology that could keep a missile "floating" in
the air for longer than a minute.
"Missiles with such technology will make enemy interception more difficult," he
said.
The agency, based in the city of Daejeon about 120 kilometers south of Seoul, was
established in 1970 and is South Korea's foremost research institute on weapons
technology.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)