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Seoul expanding missile defense in response to NK nuke test
Posted on : Feb.14,2013 15:09 KST
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An arleigh burke class aegis destroyer launches a tomahawk missile. |
Defense Ministry announces ballistic missiles that can strike anywhere in North Korea
By Kim Kyu-won, staff reporterThe Ministry of National Defense announced that it was responding to the military threat of North Korea’s third nuclear test by putting cruise missiles into combat position and hastening the development of its own ballistic missiles.It also declared its plans to rush the establishment of a detection-strike “kill chain” system to support its missile capabilities.Spokesman Kim Min-seok explained the plans at a regular briefing on Feb. 13, saying the ministry had independently developed and positioned cruise missiles with “world-class precision and destructive power” capable striking anywhere in North Korea if necessary.Kim added that further details would be announced shortly. The cruise missile in question is set to be unveiled some time around Feb. 15.Kim also said the ministry was applying the newly amended missile guidelines to the development of a ballistic missile with an 800km range, making it capable of striking targets anywhere in North Korea.Experts said the cruise missiles that the ministry put into combat position were likely to include one model with a 500 to 1,000km firing range that is launched from an Aegis destroyer (7,600 tons) or Korean-model destroyer (4,500 tons), and another with a 500km range that is launched from a Type 215 submarine (1,800 tons). They would be modified versions of the Hyunmu-3C, a surface-to-surface cruise missile with a maximum firing range of 1,500km.The ministry also plans to improve South Korea’s strike capabilities by hastening the deployment of 500-km ballistic missiles, with 800-km missiles to go into place by 2015. These missiles travel at five to ten times the speed of sound and can carry warheads weighing between 500 and 1,000kg, giving them far superior response capabilities and firepower to cruise missiles, which travel below the speed of sound and permit only warheads weighing 500kg or lighter. This is why the US currently restricts the firing range of South Korean ballistic missiles to 800km.The ministry also plans to rush the development of a so-called “kill chain” missile defense system.Kim outlined plans for developing the system, which enables real time missile response capabilities by allowing for immediate detection, identification, decision-making, and striking. In this “offensive defense” system, real time detection of enemy weapons and identification of their type and position is followed by a decision on whether to strike. Reconnaissance, communication, and intelligence satellites and observation aircraft are used for detection and identification, while missiles and fighter planes are used to strike.South Korea and the US set up plans to build the kill chain by 2015 as a follow-up to the Oct. 2012 amendment of their missile guidelines. But with North Korea carrying out a rocket launch last December and a third nuclear test last week, the deadline looks likely to be moved up. The South Korean military is also working to step up its detection capabilities. In the near term, it plans to introduce Global Hawk unmanned aircrafts, with longer-term plans for launching military reconnaissance satellitesIt also plans to go to work over the mid and long term to build the Korean Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) system.“It’s impossible to strike all of North Korea’s missiles before they are launched,” explained Kim Min-seok. “We also intend to develop the KAMD system to intercept the North Korean missiles we don’t strike before they can reach South Korea.”![](https://img1.daumcdn.net/relay/cafe/original/?fname=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.hani.co.kr%2Fimgdb%2Fresize%2F2013%2F0215%2F136082114081_20130215.JPG) |
At the centenary parade for North Korea founder Kim Il-sung in Pyongyang on April 15, 2012, North Korea displayed the KN-08, a new long-range missile. YTN quoted experts as saying the missile has a range of 3,000km. If additional UN sanctions are implemented, North Korea could test this missile. So far, only engine testing has been completed. (KCNA/Yonhap News) |
On Feb. 21, South Korean and American officials plan to attend a meeting of the Extended Deterrence Policy Committee (EDPC) in Washington, D.C., where they will discuss matters including intelligence cooperation to pick up on signs of a North Korean nuclear attack and the appropriate stage for a preemptive strike. They may also respond to comments about the inability to respond effectively if North Korea uses a mobile launcher to launch a missile with a small nuclear warhead. The meeting will be attended by Lim Kwan-bin, chief of the Policy Planning Bureau in the Ministry of National Defense, and Mark Lippert, the US assistant secretary for Asian and Pacific security affairs.A source at the Ministry of National Defense provided some clarification on the idea of a preemptive strike.“Preemptive strikes occur in a situation of total war, where North Korea has massed all its forces and is preparing for a nuclear strike,” the military source said. “It’s not anything that could be applied in the event of a North Korean nuclear test.” Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]