South Korea will begin mass-producing the Korean-made K-11 airburst assault rifle in November after having addressed problems associated with its fire control, the state weapons acquisition agency said Monday.

“We have addressed the issues that have been raised in the process of its mass production. We will produce just small amounts and test them to check whether they are suitable for field operations,” an official at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration said, declining to be named.

The Seoul government reportedly wanted to produce 1,998 K-11 rifles by 2018 with a budget of 448.5 billion won ($421.5 million). But due to budget constraints, it has reduced the target production to around 700.

Developed by the state-run Agency for Defense Development, the airburst rifle is designed for a variety of battle situations including dealing with enemy forces making stealthy infiltrations.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)