South Korea shows off its battle tanks’ firepower in a fearsome show of strength response to Kim Jong-un’s ballistic missiles launch
The country hosted an arms show after North Korea fired three ballistic missiles as world leaders gathered for the G20 summit
SOUTH KOREA put its latest weapons on display as tensions rise in the region following North Korea's missiles test-firing earlier this week.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un launched three ballistic missiles on Monday from a region south of the capital Pyongyang, hitting Japan’s air defence zone.
The missiles were fired to coincide with the G20 summit as leaders of the world’s top 20 economies met in China.
They were latest in a series of launches by the isolated North this year in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, supported by China, that ban all ballistic missile-related activities by the country.
South Korea’s defence ministry expressed “deep concern” about the launch, calling it a “grave threat” to the South’s security.
In response, the country showed off its latest high-tech weaponry at the Defense Expo Korea 2016 exhibition organised by the South Korean government in Seoul.
Korean arms manufacturers displayed the K9 self-propelled howitzer, the Surion helicopter, the K2 main battle tank, KIA2 tank and other military equipment during a press preview.
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Exhibitors also staged a live-fire show at a shooting range in Pocheon near the border with North Korea to display their artillery, mechanised infantry fighting vehicles and missiles.
The event runs this week with 250 companies involved, organisers said.
Apart from South Korean companies, 80 foreign firms from the US, Germany and Israel are also taking part in the exhibition.
Potential buyers from 25 countries have been have also been invited to the event.
South Korean K2 tanks at a shooting range in Pocheon near the border with North Korea
South Korea's arms exports fell from £2.7 billion in 2014 to £2.5 billion last year.
In 2014, the North fired two Rodong medium-range missiles just as Park and Abe were meeting U.S. President Barack Obama at the Hague to discuss responding to the North’s arms programme.
China has recently expressed concern at the proposed deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system in South Korea, which it and the US have said is designed to counter an increasing missile threat from North Korea.
The South claims a THAAD deployment would not threaten any other country’s security interests and would not be needed if the North’s nuclear issue was resolved.
In July, the North launched three missiles in a single day from the western region that flew across the country and into the sea off its east coast, flying about 300-360 miles.
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