S. Korea to launch upgraded missile defense operations center

South Korea's Air Force is set Friday to open an upgraded missile defense operations center in a city just south of Seoul, officials said, in yet another move to strengthen the nation's anti-missile shield against growing North Korean threats.

The KAMD Operations Center will open in Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, some 60 kilometers south of Seoul, following a capability upgrade designed to respond "more swiftly and effectively" to ballistic missile threats, according to the Air Force.

KAMD, short for the Korea Air and Missile Defense, is a key pillar of South Korea's three-pronged defense system, which also includes the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation, an operational plan to incapacitate the North Korean leadership in a major conflict and the Kill Chain preemptive strike platform.

The KAMD Operations Center is an upgrade from the previous Korea Theater Missile Operations Cell. Its opening came after two months of system stabilization and operational preparations following the delivery of the upgraded system to the Air Force in April.

The upgrade focuses on "significantly" reducing the amount of the time required to process ballistic missile data and enabling linkages with more detection and interception assets, according to the armed service. (Yonhap)