S Korea to Build 5 Military Satellites to Spy on North

Five South Korean military satellites will be launched by 2022 to deter North Korea's evolving security threats, Yonhap News said quoting military officers.

"The state arms procurement agency will sign a contract with a private company for the project in October, and its development is to be led by Agency for Defense Development (ADD)," the news agency said quoting an unnamed military officer. The project cost is estimated at some 1 trillion won (US$928.2 million).

The spy satellite will be the key detection asset for the country's pre-emptive strike apparatus of the Kill Chain and the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system. In a bid to ensure a stronger deterrence against North, South Korea has been developing the KAMD, a low-tier air defense program, and the Kill Chain, which is designed to launch strikes right after signs are detected of imminent nuclear or missile provocations by Pyongyang.

The satellites will be able to identify objects as small as cars. They will be equipped either with synthetic aperture radar or an electro-optic-infrared (EO-IR) surveillance device. The satellites will allow the detection of North Korea's transporter erector launchers within some two to three hours of their deployment, the report said.