SEOUL, Dec. 1 ( Yonhap) - South Korea will end this month a plan to build three new Aegis destroyers , which will help respond to threats from North Korea and other regional security issues , according to a military source said on Sunday .
This source , who wishes to remain anonymous , said the plan will be finalized on 22 December at a meeting of the Joint Chiefs .
South Korea already has three Aegis ships , belonging to King Sejong the Great class, measuring 165 meters in length and feature a water displacement of 9,000 tons. These ships , equipped with the latest technology phased array radars and other sensors can detect all types of air and naval threats, both surface and submerged , allowing the country to project power beyond South Korean waters .
The plan , which had been postponed to not be considered urgent , was resumed after the declaration of the new Area Air Defense Identification ( ADIZ , according to its acronym in English ) by China on 23 November , which overlaps the airspace of South Korea and Japan .
Seoul asked China to reconsider this move, but Beijing refused to make changes , arguing that the new ADIZ does not have to target South Korea .
Moreover , once these three ships are operating , South Korea will create three or four mobile squads to defend their territories , as Dokdo islets in the East Sea and Ocean Research Station Ieodo . A mobile squad may be formed by two Aegis destroyers , two children Chungmugong class destroyers Yi Sun -shin , one supply ship and two submarines of new generation , with the possibility of being supplemented with 16 helicopters and maritime reconnaissance aircraft as P- 3C Orion .
The construction of these three destroyers cost 3 trillion won ($ 2.8 billion) , and will end between 2022 and 2028 .
