According to Korea Herald, Republic of Korea (ROK) on Monday approved a $546 million plan to develop a combat system to be equipped on the country's next-generation destroyers, the arms procurement agency Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said.

The Defence Project Promotion Committee decided during a videoconference session held earlier in the day to sign a contract for the Korea Destroyer Next Generation project in the fourth quarter of this year with a plan to complete the system development by 2030, according to the DAPA.

ROK has been pushing to locally develop 6,000-ton-class destroyers equipped with an indigenous combat system to boost the Navy's capabilities in safeguarding the country's maritime interests.

Such warships are often dubbed “mini-Aegis” destroyers, as they are smaller than the 7,600-ton KDX-III destroyer equipped with the advanced Aegis combat system but more extensive than the 4,200-ton KDX-II destroyer.