South Korea To Build Shelters For Electromagnetic Pulse Waves Attack

July 3, 2009 5:51 p.m. EST

Seoul, South Korea (AHN) - South Korea's military will build facilities that will protect electronic equipment and weapons system from disruption by electronic pulse waves (EMP) generated during a nuclear explosion, according to the defense ministry.

The ministry's Brig. Gen. Jang Gi-yoon, who disclosed the plan, did not say how many anti-EMP facilities will be constructed from 2010 to 2014 using up to $78 million in budget. However, unnamed officials told Yonhap that major political and military structures, including the office of the president and command centers, are likely to have such facilities.

Jang also said the ministry will purchase unmanned aerial vehicles from the U.S. by 2015 to be used in taking pictures of North Korean bases and upgrade radars to better monitor nuclear missile launches.

The planned defense spending comes after North Korea's nuclear testing and test-firing of short-range missiles the past several weeks.