South Korea's military to increase number of Hyunmoo missiles, says report

[Zarvan]

South Korea's military is planning to increase the number of Hyunmoo missiles in its inventory, according to Yonhap news agency. This image shows Hyunmoo 2B ballistic missiles, foreground, and Hyunmoo 3C cruise missiles being displayed in Seoul on Armed Forces Day on 1 October, 2013. Source: PA
South Korea's military will greatly increase the number of Hyunmoo missiles (also known as Hyunmu or Hyon Mu) in its arsenal to better counter North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Government insiders said the military is devising a plan to simultaneously take out missile bases all across North Korea in times of crisis, the media outlet reported on 14 August.

"To accomplish this, the South needs more ballistic missiles at its disposal," Yonhap quoted an official as saying on condition of anonymity. The source said procuring more short-range Hyunmoo-2 series of tactical ballistic missiles (TBM), which have maximum ranges of 300-500 km, and the 500-1,000 km-range Hyunmoo-3 series of cruise missiles can help Seoul "neutralise" Pyongyang's missile threat.

The source was also quoted as saying that next year's addition of a new type of TBM to South Korea's arsenal with a range of 800 km will enhance Seoul's capability to cover all of North Korea.

According to Yonhap, South Korea's military has identified three belts of North Korean missiles, with the first located about 50-90 km north of the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ). This belt reportedly has 500-600 Scud missiles that have ranges of 300-700 km. It said the North has some 40 transporter-erector launchers (TELs) in this belt, which makes the missiles harder to detect.

In the second belt lying 90-120 km north of the DMZ, Pyongyang is known to have placed 200-300 No Dong (also called Rodong) medium-range missiles with a range of around 1,300 km with 30 TELs, the media outlet reported.

In the third belt lying deeper inside the country, the North may have 30-50 Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs) and 30 TELs, with the latest reports indicating the deployment of the North's KN-08 long-range missiles, Yonhap added.

Despite United Nations sanctions barring North Korea from conducting any test of nuclear or ballistic missile technology, Pyongyang has engaged in a series of demonstrations of military might over the past few months, including a fourth nuclear test in January and several test launches of Musudan and No Dong missiles.

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