S. Korea begins making mini drones to surveil N. Korea

South Korea began to churn out mini-size drones Wednesday to better surveil North Korea's military activities along the land and sea borders, the defense acquisition agency said.
  

Local drone manufacturer UCON System delivered its first batch of the unmanned aerial vehicles, known as the Remoeye-002B, after three years of development, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said in a statement.
  

Measuring 1.4 meters long and 1.8 m wide, the drones can fly at a maximum speed of 80 kilometers per hour for a flight mission of up to 60 minutes, with capacities to surveil and transmit images on a real-time basis around the clock.
  

The DAPA will distribute the new drones to front-line infantry units and Marine Corps troops in stages until 2017 for the tasks of surveilling North Korea's military activities near the border.
  

"The drone deployment will greatly improve infantry battalions' combat power," a DAPA official said, highlighting that the new aircraft will enable troops to oversee enemies from the air before launching attacks, a major leap from current surveillance dependent on human eyes.  (Yonhap)