News Story: S. Korean Navy to have four new NLL patrol ships

SEOUL, June 28 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's Navy announced a plan Wednesday to replace its naval patrol ships operating near the tense inter-Korean sea border with upgraded ones.

The Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), the country's arms procurement agency, said it has signed a 256-billion-won (US$ 223 million) agreement with Hanjin Heavy Industries, a local shipyard, for four 200-ton high-speed patrol boats.

The Gumdoksuri (golden eagle)-class ships will be delivered to the Navy in 2020 to replace existing 170-ton Chamsuri (sea eagle)-class ones operating in waters near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de-factor maritime border between the two Koreas, it said.

Read the full story at YonhapNews

News Story: South Korea to speed up hovercraft delivery

Landing Craft Air Cushion (Image: Wiki Commons)

by Ryan Maass

South Korea's defense procurement agency will move up the scheduled delivery of two hovercraft landing ships by one year.

The move, which the agency says is meant to counter North Korea's growing nuclear capabilities, brings the delivery date from 2021 to 2020 according to IHS Janes. Hanjin Heavy Industries received a $130 million contract to support the project.

"If the hovercraft landing ships are deployed in 2020, the navy's operational capabilities will receive a boost amid growing tensions from North Korea," a spokesperson for DAPA, South Korea's Defense Acquisition Program Administration, told the Yonhap news agency.

Read the full story at SpaceWar

News Story: S.Korean military probes alleged hacking by DPRK into navy warship builder

SEOUL, May 10 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's military counter-espionage service has investigated an alleged hacking attack by Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co., a key builder of naval warships, Yonhap reported on Tuesday.

"After identifying signs that Hanjin Heavy Industries may have been hacked on April 20, the Defense Security Command is currently leading a security investigation into whether any military secrets were leaked and whether North Korea was involved," official sources was quoted as saying.

Read the full story at Xinhua