Amid fears of a North Korean attack, South Korean defence researchers are developing electronic bombs that can knock out equipment including radars, ships and communication networks within a one km radius.
Electromagnetic pulse (EMP) bombs, if exploded, can jam and damage surrounding high-tech defence systems. EMP can be generated through a nuclear blast or simulated without one, the officials at South Korea's state-run Agency for Defence Development (ADD) said.
"Our EMP devices can currently affect systems only tens of meters away, but our aim is to extend the reach to one km by 2014," Yonhap news agency quoted an official as saying.
"An EMP bomb cannot be considered effective unless its range is at least one km," an official said.
The development effort, which has been under way for nearly a decade according to the officials, comes as fears mount that North Korea may attempt to incapacitate South Korea's defence systems through nuclear-generated EMP, or NEMP, in the event of war.
Tension has run high between the divided countries since last year as their relations sank to near all time lows. It heightened further when North Korea recently conducted its second nuclear test and test-fired a barrage of missiles.
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Seoul announced last week it would shield its major political and military facilities against EMP attacks by 2014.
South and North Korea fought the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.