South Korea is looking to deploy Apache helicopters to the West Sea border islands in preparation for possible surprise attacks from North Korea.

The Defense Ministry on Sunday says it will import the choppers next year and deploy them on Baeknyeong Island. A North Korean torpedo sunk the Navy corvette Cheonan near the island last year.

Apache attack helicopters are designed to survive heavy attacks and inflict massive damage.

The plan comes in response to the growing threat of surprise attacks by North Korean special forces.

Meanwhile, reports say Pyongyang has completed the construction of a new naval base on Koampo that is capable of accommodating about 60 hovercraft. The Koampo base is only about 50 km from Baeknyeong.