Why South Korea Is Developing Iron Dome?

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What has happened?

South Korea’s defence procurement agency announced that it had approved plans to develop an artillery interception system, similar to Israel’s Iron Dome.
This new defence system will be designed and built specifically to thwart attacks by rockets and long-range missiles launched by North Korea.
The South Korean government had announced in June that it would be spending approximately $2.5 billion on research and development of this new system, with a target to deploy it by 2035.

North Korea deploys around 1,000 artillery pieces along the Military Demarcation Line that divides the Korean Peninsula.
It includes multiple 240-millimeter rocket launchers, most of which are directly aimed at the South Korean capital Seoul and its larger metropolitan areas,
That is home to approximately half the country’s population, according to government estimates.

Following the armistice that brought a halt to the Korean War in 1953, both countries have built up massive military presence on both sides of the Military Demarcation Line, along the 38th parallel.

South Korea’s decision to develop this new defence system is the result of a long defence acquisition procedure.
Of course, North Korea has always been one of consideration for South Korea’s military’s defence development, but is not the only cause for it.
South Korea is surrounded by powerful neighboring countries like China, Russia, Japan and others.
At the same time, South Korea’s military posture has largely been North Korea-centric, particularly over the last decade.
The South Koreans have been continuously trying to upgrade their military capabilities.
Israel’s Iron Dome system was very much in South Korea’s radar for a very long time.

A little over a decade ago, both countries began expanding cooperation in the field of military and defence, with Seoul showing interestin purchasing military hardware including drones, missiles and radar from Israel.
In 2009, the South Korean military purchased the Israeli Green Pine Block-B, an Israeli ground-based missile-defense radar.
This was followed by the signing of two more deals for radar systems.
For Iron Dome, South Korea first expressed interest following a high-level visit to Israel by the vice-commissioner of the South Korean Defense Acquisition Program Administration
(DAPA) Kwon Oh-bong, in June 2011.
He toured Israel’s defense industry and also met senior defense ministry officials.

The most significant is that South Korea’s system will be designed to intercept long-range artillery pieces.
But more importantly, South Korea and Israel face different security threats that require different responses, experts agree.
While Israel contends with Hamas, which is primarily a militant group, South Korea had to contend with North Korea, a nation with its own extensive military capabilities.
Israel’s system is fit for its geography, the desert and threats like rocket shooting by non-state actors.
But, South Korea has different geography, with mountain terrain with threats from traditional state actors.
Thus, South Korea will develop its own type of weapon system, fit for its geography and environment.

Some politicians and activists have criticised the government for spending more on developing military capabilities to deter North Korea,
While on the other hand, the Moon Jae-in government has been more friendly than its predecessors with Pyongyang.

In northeast Asia’s complex geopolitical dynamics, South Korea’s decisions to develop this new defence system is bound to cause consternation, experts agree.
Japan might keep a cautious eye and might not be happy with South Korea possessing such a model like Israel.
But they aren’t really opposed to it either because they know that these capabilities are being developed keeping North Korea in mind.
China will see it as a negative development because as we know, when THAAD was deployed, both China and Russia reacted very strongly.
Russia has never been in favour of advanced militarisation in the Korean Peninsula because it believes that such a development may only check Russian influence and military might in northeast Asia.

Q) What country had control of the Korean peninsula before World War II?