South Korea is preparing to introduce a laser-based defense system that could more easily destroy drones coming from North Korea.
The “Block I” program, also known as “Star Wars,” aims to make South Korea the first military in the world to weaponize directed light.
“Our country will become the first in the world to deploy and operate a laser weapon, further strengthening our military’s response capabilities against North Korean drone provocations,” South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said in a statement.
Kim Jong Un oversees drills simulating attacks on South and North Korea
A North Korean observation post (top) on the northern side of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates North and South Korea can be seen across the South Korean military fence (bottom) from the border city of Paju. (JUNG YEONG-JE/AFP via Getty Images)
“North Korea is on our doorstep and its drones pose an immediate threat to us, so we are looking to rapidly develop and deploy laser weapons to deal with them,” a Defense Department official told The Associated Press privately.
The laser, developed in collaboration with Hanwha Aerospace, shines a sustained beam of light on an airborne target for up to 20 seconds.
The heat generated by a laser can superheat and burn a target without the need for a traditional projectile.
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South Korean soldiers walk through the truce village of Panmunjom in the Joint Security Area (JSA) of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that separates South and North Korea, with the North Korean Panmun House in the background. (Anthony Wallace/AFP via Getty Images)
These weapons are expected to be highly effective and have a low operational cost of less than $2 per launch.
The most obvious use of Star Wars weaponry would be against aerial targets from North Korea.
As a sign of disrespect, the communist country sent giant balloons loaded with garbage over the DMZ and into South Korean airspace.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong Un delivered a speech at a meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea held in Pyongyang, North Korea from June 28 to July 1. (Korean Central News Agency/Korean News Agency via The Associated Press)
The North Korean balloons were allegedly sent in retaliation for similar balloons carrying anti-North Korean propaganda that activists had sent from South Korea towards the North.
North Korea’s supreme leader, Kim Jong Un, has abandoned hopes of reconciliation between his isolated country and South Korea, accepting instead an unclear role in an alliance with Russia and China.
