S. Korea deploys upgraded surface-to-air intercept missile

A newly upgraded interceptor missile, often dubbed the Korean equivalent of the US-made Patriot missile defense system, has been delivered to the military, the arms procurement agency said Thursday.

Cheongung II, the upgraded version of the country's first indigenously developed medium-range surface-to-air guided missile of the same name, is equipped with multifunction radar to strike aircraft and missiles simultaneously, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

The Agency for Defense Development began the upgrade project in 2012, and the missile system has recorded a 100 percent accuracy rate at multiple test launches, officials said.

"The deployment is expected to contribute to establishing a Korean-style missile defense system, boosting the military's core capabilities for a prompt transition of the wartime operational control, as well as to increasing exports in the defense sector," agency chief Wang Jung-hong said. (Yonhap)