Seoul: South Korea will advance the deployment of a homegrown interceptor system akin to Israel's Iron Dome by two years to 2029 in a bid to better counter North Korea's long-range artillery threats, the state arms procurement agency said Friday. The country plans to deploy a prototype of the Low-Altitude Missile Defense (LAMD) system designed to simultaneously intercept incoming artillery rounds by 2029.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced that the LAMD system, which consists of a radar, tactical communications component, launchers, and interceptors, is designed to intercept simultaneous attacks from North Korea at low altitudes. Initially, DAPA aimed at deploying the LAMD system by 2031, but it has decided to bring forward the plan by two years amid growing threats from North Korea's multiple rocket launcher systems.

The government plans to invest 842 billion won (US$558 million) in developing the LAMD system by 2030.