S. Korea's only Aegis warship undergoing maintenance: official

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's only Aegis destroyer will stay out of
service until the end of this month when its routine maintenance is due to be
completed, a Navy official said Thursday.

Sejong the Great, a 7,600-ton vessel that led South Korea's surveillance efforts
when North Korea fired its long-range rocket on April 5, has been unavailable for
operation since May 23, the official said, speaking on customary condition of
anonymity.
Maintenance is being conducted under joint supervision with U.S. technicians from
Lockheed Martin, which worked with several other companies to build the
destroyer, the official said.
"There will be another round of maintenance later this year," the official said,
adding the measures are routine and not meant to deal with any abnormality.
Commissioned late last year, Sejong the Great is equipped with radars that can
detect objects 1,000 km away. Its Aegis defense system allows it to shoot down
targets within a radius of 150 km.
South Korea's second Aegis ship is scheduled to be commissioned in 2010. A third
one is under construction.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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