The South Korean military plans to expand its reconnaissance and surveillance capacity through the deployment of military spy satellites in the coming years, a military official has revealed.
The official explained on the 6th, “The ROK Military employs diverse intelligence assets to keep watch on the actions of the North Korean military, including reconnaissance aircraft. However, there is a limit to our ability to watch facilities located in rear areas, including logistics and command and control locations. To achieve the independent capacity to keep watch on all areas, front and rear, we are going to include spy satellites in our medium- to long-term plan.”
The official, who spoke anonymously, added that such satellites form an important part of moves to upgrade the South Korean military in advance of the transfer of operational control from the United States to South Korea in 2015.
South Korea currently operates the ‘Arirang-3,’ a multipurpose satellite that also provides geographical information on the Korean Peninsula, including on North Korean missile and nuclear test sites. However, the United States also provides a lot of intelligence to supplement the existing limitations of this equipment.
