Military seeks to develop new patrol craft to bolster front-line defense

South Korea is seeking to develop a highly mobile patrol craft as part of its efforts to bolster naval defense along the maritime boundary with North Korea, military officials said Wednesday.

Through a civilian-military cooperative project, the military plans to develop a 20-ton "high-speed interceptor craft" that can travel faster than 60 knots per hour, or 111 kmph, the officials said.

The military plans to launch the project within this year and produce a prototype in five years so they can be stationed near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto sea border between the two Koreas.

The envisioned vessel is expected to have much enhanced agility compared with the 130-ton Chamsuri-class patrol craft currently in service. The Chamsuri-class boats are considered the Navy's most mobile vessels with a maximum speed of 38 knots per hour.

The HSIC is to measure 20 meters in length and 4 meters in width, and can carry a crew of 12, officials said. It is expected to have a maximum range of 300 nautical miles, or 555 kilometers.

The military anticipates that should the HSIC be deployed, it would be able to handle various military missions, including operations to fend off hostile infiltrations near the maritime border or other coastal defense actions.

The HSIC can also be used by the Coast Guard to crack down on illegal fishing boats, the officials said.

As part of efforts to bolster maritime defense, the military also plans to launch a project this year to build a 200-ton guided missile patrol ship, which it says is expected to strengthen the Navy's front-line defense operations. (Yonhap)