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South Korea will spend a total 290.5 trillion won ($239.4 billion) on defense over the next five years with plans to deploy a F-35B stealth fighter carrier and an arsenal ship amid growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea and intensifying arms race in the Northeast Asian region.

Korea’s Ministry of Defense on Wednesday unveiled a mid-term national defense plan for 2020-2024 that involves new weapons development. Under the plan, a total 290.5 trillion won will be spent over the next five years, meaning the country’s defense budget would increase by about 7 percent on average annually over the 2020-24 period from this year’s 46.6 trillion won. At such a pace, the country’s annual defense budget would soon hit 60 trillion won.

In detail, South Korea plans to place a multi-purpose large platform experimental (LPX) ship, a type of light aircraft carrier that can embark F-35B stealth fighters, in the second half of 2020 at the earliest after drawing conceptual designs next year. It also aims to develop and build joint fire ships, like a missile battleship and an arsenal ship that can launch multiple missiles from the waters to attack target subjects on ground, by the latter half of next year.

The Korean defense ministry officially confirmed its plan to build a 30,000-ton light aircraft carrier for the first time after Japan recently announced a plan to remodel its Izumo-class multi-purpose destroyer, a type of helicopter carrier, into one that can load F-35B stealth fighter jets with an aim to deploy it by mid-2020.

To counter North Korea’s nuclear threats, South Korea will develop black-out bombs that can neutralize electric network as well as electromagnetic pulse bombs (EMPs), the ministry announced.

Against growing ballistic missile threats from Pyongyang, Seoul will expand defense area and sharpen capability of Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system. It will also add two early warning radars with an 800 kilometers or longer detection range and Aegis radar destroyer SPY-1D to enhance the country’s capability to detect North Korean missiles coming from all directions.

The ministry will also secure intercepting ability against North Korea’s new short-range ballistic missiles by developing a long-range surface-to-air missile (L-SAM), a missile defense system that intercepts missiles, and deploying performance improved Patriot and Cheolmae-2 missile defense systems.

The ministry will spend 56.6 trillion won over the next five years to up key defense capability of the military and secure operational action against threats, it added. Under the plan, the ministry will upgrade the K1E1 battle tank, small-size light-armed helicopter air-to-surface missile, airborne unmanned air vehicle, small-size surveillance robot, Lynx antisubmarine helicopter, unmanned surface vehicle, coastal surveillance radar-II, and F-15K. It will also launch the second phase of the heavy transport project, develope laser antiaircraft weapons and high-energy laser tracking satellite, as well as build a 3,000-ton submarine.

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