South Korea inks deal for 90 more KEPD 350 Taurus missiles


South Korea has inked a contract to purchase 90 more KEPD 350 Taurus long-range air-to-ground missiles in line with its weapon system introduction program despite eased tensions on the peninsula, an official said Tuesday.


new batch of KEPD 350 Tauraus for south korea 001 A KEPD 350 Taurus missile showcased at ADEX 2017


"The contract was signed in late February," Kang Hwan-seok, spokesman for the country's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), told reporters in response to a related news report earlier in the day.

The state arms agency did not issue a separate press release about the deal. South Korea ordered 170 Taurus precision-guided missiles, known as bunker-buster missiles, in 2013. Most of those are fitted on the RoKAF-15K fighter jets.

Last year, the government's defense industry program committee decided to buy 90 additional Taurus missiles amid the urgent beefing up of the nation's Kill Chain pre-emptive strike system against North Korea's fast-developing nuclear and missile programs.

Produced by German-Swedish defense producer Taurus Systems GmbH, the missile has a range of 500 kilometers. The Taurus missile can fly at a low altitude without being detected from North Korea's radar as stealth technology is applied. The global positioning systems (GPS) also permits it to precisely hit targets despite the enemy's GPS-jamming move.