The missile, co-developed by the Agency for Defense Development and local companies, can strike targets as far away as seven kilometers and as high as 3.5 kilometers, and has a proven hit probability of more than 90 percent.

The Shingung automatically explodes when within 1.5 kilometers of the target, sending out as many as 720 fragments. These fragments are powerful enough to pierce through fighter plane and helicopter engines.

"We succeeded in developing the world's fifth portable surface-to-air missile after investing W70 billion ($60 million) over eight years," said Lee Un-dong from the ADD. The mass production will start next year, and South Korea will be saving up to W500 billion by producing its own missiles, he said.

Other ADD officials said that the Shingung was superior to the U.S.-made Stinger and the French-made Mistral in hit probability, transportability and price. The Shingung weighs 15 kilograms and is 1.6 meters long, with a diameter of 8 centimeters. It flies at the maximum speed of Mach 2.1. (Yoo Yong-won, kysu@chosun.com )