The Republic of Korea is looking to lease several military spy satellites next year in order to improve its combat capabilities against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats. On Friday, the Republic of Korea's Ministry of National Defence said: “We plan to improve surveillance and striking capability on the whole region of North Korea, expand the defence ability for core facilities and develop the capability for independent, massive retaliation”. Stating that they have been in talks with three to four countries, a senior ministry official said a contract was hoped to be signed with a certain nation by early 2018.