Next year, the South Korean military will begin using new hand-held mine detectors capable of detecting both metal and non-metallic mines. According to Aju Daily, they will also allow finding North Korean wooden mines concentrated along the border.
South Korea has been armed with PRS-17K mine detectors since the nineties. They don't know how to identify non-metallic mines. Such are the North Korean military, who copied Soviet mines from the Second World War, consisting of a wooden hull and a minimum number of metal components. These shells are mainly concentrated along the border between North and South Korea. They are especially dangerous because they are easily washed away by rains and washed up to the banks of rivers.
The South Korean Defense Procurement Administration (DAPA) has signed a contract with Hanwha Systems for the production and supply of 1.6 thousand PRS-20K hand-held mine detectors that will be capable of detecting non-metallic mines, including North Korean wooden ones. The military will start receiving them in the second half of next year.
PRS-20K will be equipped with georadars and metal detectors. They will be able to analyze heterogeneous soil layers and identify foreign objects. Compared to the PRS-17K, the new devices will detect mines at a greater depth.
The military uses the PRS-20K to clear mines from areas near the border with North Korea. After that, they will finally be able to extract the remains of soldiers who died during the Korean War.
Earlier we wrote about the mine detection system and improvised explosive devices, which is being developed by the American company Raytheon. She will identify them with the help of bacteria.
Vasilisa Chernyavtseva
