South Korea's defense procurement agency said Wednesday it plans to import arms worth about 3.5 trillion won ($3 billion) this year in a bid to enhance its defense capabilities.

South Korea plans to spend about 9 percent of this year's defense budget of 38.8 trillion won to buy weaponry from overseas, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

It said the government plans to spend an average of 3.5 billion won per contract to import weapons from foreign suppliers.

Amid North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, South Korea is seeking to develop home-grown missile defense systems by 2023 -- Kill Chain and Korean Air and Missile Defense -- which could detect and intercept missiles coming from North Korea.

DAPA Minister Chang Myoung-jin said in January that the agency will concentrate efforts on upgrading the country's Patriot missiles and developing long-range ground-to-air missiles to counter North Korea's threats.

The agency is reportedly seeking to set up its homegrown defense system ahead of the original schedule as Pyongyang conducted its fourth nuclear test and fired off a long range rocket earlier this year, despite warnings from the international community. (Yonhap)