South Korea has completed a development project to improve a command and control system overseeing defense operations against ballistic missiles, the state arms procurement agency said Thursday, amid efforts to bolster response capabilities against Pyongyang's military threats.

Earlier this month, the defense ministry gave combat approval for the improvements to the Korea Theater Missile Operation Cell after the project first began in 2019, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

The KTMO-CELL conducts round-the-clock centralized operations against the missiles from processing their radar tracks sent by surveillance systems to assigning arms for interception systems.

DAPA said the improvements to the KTMO-CELL include reduced times in processing radar tracks and sending information, and enhanced interconnection capabilities of its tracking and interception systems.

"Through this project, (we) have established a defense system that not only responds immediately to ... ballistic missile launches from North Korea and others but also one that actively responds to the increasing ballistic missile threats near the Korean Peninsula and the changes to the operation environment in the future," it said in a release.

North Korea has continued to conduct major weapons tests this year, including the launch of a purported fuel-cell intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month. (Yonhap)