SOUTH Korea is set to deploy the world’s first “Star Wars” laser weaponry system to smash North Korean drones out of the sky.
The “game changer” weapon will be installed along the borders to respond to tyrant Kim Jong-un‘s provocations who sits on an arsenal of nukes and chemical weapons.
The laser weapon will shoot down flying drones by burning down engines or other electric equipment in drones by using beams of light for 10 to 20 seconds, the Defence Acquisition Programme Administration (DAPA) said.
Developed by the South Korean military along with Hanwha Aerospace, the laser system can down drones at just £1 per shot – making it one of the cheapest drone-zapping systems in the world.
DAPA said in a statement: “Our country is becoming the first country in the world to deploy and operate laser weapons, and our military’s response capabilities on North Korea‘s drone provocation will be further strengthened.”
This comes just months after North Korean drones crossed into South Korea.
In December, five Pyongyang drones entered South Korean territory, forcing Seoul to scramble fighter jets and attack helicopters to try to shoot down the drones.
Border tensions are rampantly escalating between North Korea and South Korea who are still at war as a peace treaty was never signed after the 1950-1953 Korean War.
A 2.5-mile wide Demilitarised Zone dividing the two countries is one of the most heavily mined places on Earth – strewn with landmines to deter enemy troops.
South Korea last month fired warning shots at North Korean soldiers twice in one week after troops crossed the border – the third incident in just a month.
Meanwhile, deranged dictator Kim has been laying more landmines, reinforcing roads and adding what looks like anti-tank barriers on the South’s doorstep.
Satellite images suggest the North is also building new defence lines right on the border – risking “escalation” and “bloodshed”, experts have warned.
BRITAIN is testing its own laser weaponry system called DragonFire
The gun – designed to shoot down missiles, planes, drones and even satellites with “pin point accuracy” – is running five years behind schedule and has cost over £140 million to develop.
But the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) said it cost just a tenner per shot to fire – meaning millions of pounds could be saved in future conflicts.
Military top brass hope it could replace multi-million pound missiles like the Royal Navy’s Sea Viper system used against Houthi rebel drones and rockets over the Red Sea.
The highly focused laser beam can hit a pound coin from more than a mile away – and it needs to ammunition, using mirrors to focus heat on a specific point.
The DSTL, based in Wiltshire, said it blasts targets at the speed of light.
Its “intense beam of light” can cut through targets and explode missile warheads.
The laser cannon was tested for the first time in November 2022 – as it blasted a drone from over two miles away.
This most recent test means plans for the laser in combat can be accelerated to use against rising threats around the globe.
And Kim has been intensifying weapons tests as the US, South Korea and Japan host a flurry of war games in the region.
In a brazen intimidation move, North Korea sent a wave of 260 filthy faeces-filled balloons to South Korea last month.
Speaking to The Sun, Michael Madden, director and founder of NK Leadership Watch, said a “serious escalation” on the Korean peninsula would be triggered by “several days of incidents near the border”.
These “incidents” – including shots being fired – would unfold “for a period of about five days to a week before a serious escalation in tensions”.
This could then spark a “strategic miscalculation which could incite a larger conflict”.
“There are a number of tripwires and forums before it would reach that point,” he added.
Armed with an arsenal of nukes and chemical weapons, experts have warned a war with tyrant Kim Jong-un could be one of the bloodiest in history.
