S. Korea to build defenses against nuclear EMP waves by 2014

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By Sam Kim
SEOUL, July 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will spend tens of billions of won by 2014
to protect against electromagnetic pulse (EMP) waves unleashed by a nuclear
blast, an official said Friday.

The plan for the construction of anti-EMP facilities was recently inserted into a
long-term defense reform plan after North Korea went ahead with a nuclear test in
May, Brig. Gen. Jang Gi-yoon said.
"The spending will not top 100 billion won (US$78 million)," Jang said in a
briefing, declining to be more specific. "The shelters will be like steel safes."
An EMP is generated from a nuclear explosion and can lead to the shutdown of all
electronic equipment, including weapons systems operating within hundreds or even
thousands of kilometers, Jang said.
He said he was not authorized to share with reporters how many anti-EMP
facilities will be set up, but other officials said major political and military
structures, including the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae and command centers,
will be assigned a priority.
North Korea has recently warned of nuclear warfare, accusing the U.S. of
harboring war plans and orchestrating international sanctions on Pyongyang. North
Korea conducted its first nuclear test in October 2006 and its second on May 25
this year.
Radars will be upgraded to better detect missile launches, Jang said, while the
Ministry of National Defense is pushing to introduce drones, or unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs), from the United States by 2015 to be able to photograph North
Korean bases in detail.
North Korea has fired a barrage of short-range missiles -- a threat more alarming
to South Korea than longer-range ones -- off its east coast since its latest
atomic test.
South Korean and U.S. defense officials say North Korea is pressing ahead with
missile development despite U.N. sanctions that have toughened against it over
the years.
The international community refuses to classify North Korea as a nuclear weapons
state, urging it to drop its arms programs and return to multilateral disarmament
talks.
The two Koreas technically remain at war, as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a
truce rather than a peace treaty.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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