Yonhap News Agency quoted local sources on September 2 to report that South Korea is in the late stages of developing a large surface-to-surface missile (SSM) with a 3,000-kg warhead and a range between 350 and 400 kilometers.
Yonhap added that the unnamed SSM, which is said to be “as powerful as a tactical nuclear weapon,” is in the final stages of development and may be deployed in 2026 after several test launches are planned.
The document also states that the new SSM is designed to preemptively suppress North Korea’s rugged underground nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) facilities and bases. If the range profile of the weapon is deployed from the border between divided countries, Seoul can also target any area in North Korea, which has technically been in a state of war since the armistice in 1953.
On May 21, after the bilateral summit between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Joe Biden in Washington, the US-South Korea ballistic missile guidelines were terminated in 1979. The development of such large and powerful missiles was not allowed until recently.
The guidelines were originally formulated to prevent South Korea from pursuing or possessing ballistic and cruise missiles with a maximum range of more than 800 kilometers. The guidelines have been revised several times in the past, including the removal of missile payload restrictions in 2017, allowing Seoul to develop heavy conventional payload missiles.
South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense said in a statement at the time: “After the guidelines are terminated, we will deter potential threats and improve our ability to strike major targets.”
On August 31, the Ministry of National Defense announced that its 2022 budget was 55.23 trillion won, an increase of 4.5% over the previous year. It also separately stated that it will accelerate the pace of missile research and development by 2026, with the goal of deploying new types of missiles with “significantly enhanced destructive power.”
In mid-2020, South Korea successfully tested the Xuanwu 4 ballistic missile with a range of 800 kilometers and a 2,000-kg warhead.
It also recently received the first of nine 3,000-ton KSS-III diesel-electric attack submarines-ROKS Dosan An Changho – Can be equipped with submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM).
Xiao Wu
