SEOUL - SOUTH Korea on Wednesday showcased guided missiles and other new weaponry in a parade marking the 60th anniversary of its armed forces.
The parade through southern Seoul involved 86 new weapons - developed here or introduced from abroad - such as tanks, armoured vehicles, anti-aircraft guns and guided missiles, organisers said.
Some 2,500 soldiers and hundreds of veterans from South Korea and other countries took part in the first street parade in five years.
On display were SLAM-ER air-to-ground missiles with a range of 278 kilometres (174 miles), displayed on a truck. Ground-to-ground Hyun Moo missiles with a maximum range of 180 kilometres were also on show.
Two Patriot missiles were also on display for the first time locally.
South Korea has agreed to buy 48 second-hand Patriot missiles from Germany to build its defences against North Korea's missile capability.
The US and its allies regard the North's missile development as a major threat to regional security, on top of its nuclear ambitions.
Defence officials in Seoul believe the North has 300-500 Scud missiles with a range of 300-500 kilometres and Rodongs, which have a range up to 1,300 kilometres. It is developing longer-range Taepodong missiles that could theoretically reach the US state of Alaska.
The North alarmed the region by test-firing a Taepodong-1 in 1998 over Japan. It test-launched a Taepodong-2 in 2006 but it failed.
The South maintains a 680,000-strong military, backed up by 28,500 US troops, against the North's 1.1-million-strong armed forces.
The two Koreas have remained technically at war since their 1950-1953 war ended only with an armistice and not a peace pact. -- AFP