S.Korea in final stages of developing ballistic missile to deter N.Korea

Seoul is developing a new weapon with a flight range of 350-400 km and a payload of up to 3 tonnes, designed to destroy underground facilities such as those North Korea is believed to use to store nuclear weapons, Yonhap reports.

A tactical surface-to-surface missile developed by South Korea’s Hanwha is displayed at the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition in South Korea, on October 15, 2019. (Reuters)

South Korea is in the final stages
of developing a ballistic missile that can carry a warhead of up
to 3 tonnes, Yonhap news agency has reported, as the
country unveiled budget proposals aimed at bolstering its
defences against North Korea.

In its defence blueprint for 2022-2026, the Defence Ministry
said on Thursday it would develop new missiles “with significantly enhanced
destructive power,” upgrade missile defence systems and deploy
new interceptors against long-range artillery.

“We will develop stronger, longer-range and more precise
missiles so as to exercise deterrence and achieve security and
peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the ministry said in a
statement.

Among those missiles is a new weapon with a flight range of
350-400 kilometres and a payload of up to 3 tonnes, designed to
destroy underground facilities such as those North Korea is
believed to use to store nuclear weapons, Yonhap reported,
citing unnamed sources.

READ MORE: South Korea says North Korea fired ‘projectiles’ into sea

Tit-for-tat conventional missile race

The missile would be the latest in a tit-for-tat
conventional missile race between the two Koreas that is set to
accelerate after South Korea and the United States agreed to
scrap all bilateral restrictions on Seoul’s missile development
earlier this year.

In 2020, South Korea announced its new Hyunmoo-4 short-range
ballistic missile (SRBM) could carry a 2-tonne warhead, while in
March North Korea tested an SRBM that it said could deliver a
2.5-tonne payload. The Hyunmoo-4 is South Korea’s largest missile.

“Following the termination of the guidelines, we will
exercise deterrence against potential threats and improve strike
capabilities against main targets,” the defence ministry
statement said.

Dangerous change in Asia

Before the decade is out, Asia will be bristling with
conventional missiles that fly farther and faster, hit harder,
and are more sophisticated than ever before – a stark and
dangerous change from recent years, analysts, diplomats, and
military officials have said. 

Overall South Korea’s defence blueprint calls for spending
315.2 trillion won (US$273 billion), a 5.8 percent year-on-year
increase on average, over the next five years.

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Source: Reuters