Kim Minseok covers South Korean defense. He has worked as a journalist for South Korean military magazines Military Review and Defense Times. Mr Kim is also a research fellow at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, a think tank.
Equipping South Korean destroyers with SM-3s would be the latest in a series of measures in which Seoul and Washington are strongly reinforcing the country’s defenses against a growing North Korean ballistic-missile threat.
The next possible addition to Seoul’s defense against North Korean ballistic missiles could involve equipping destroyers with Raytheon SM-3 interceptors.
South Korean and U.S. officials have begun hammering out details of technological transfers for the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) KF-X fighter program, with Seoul seeking knowhow in such fields as avionics integration and twin engine installations.
