South Korea Developing Its Own Counter-Rocket System - Reports

South Korea has decided not to skate on thin ice by using Israel's Iron Dome system and to develop its own counter-rocket system amid tensions on the Peninsula.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said that South Korean Agency for Defense Development has been working on core technologies for such system based on a "hit-to-kill" platform, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The decision has been reportedly made after South Korean military decided not to buy Israel's Iron Dome system as it would not be effective against a massive attack using long-range rockets.

Meanwhile, the joint week-long navy drills of the US and South Korean fleets have kicked off. About 40 vessels, including the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan, are taking part in maneuvers in the waters around the Korean Peninsula.

The exercises come against the backdrop of escalating pressure on the Korean peninsula over Pyongyang's missile and nuclear tests.

Following the ballistic missile test, conducted by Pyongyang on September 15, the United States and North Korea exchanged threats, with the US President Donald Trump threatening to "totally destroy" North Korea if forced to defend the United States or its allies, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un warning the United States of a highest level of hard-line countermeasures in history.