By Lee Tae-hoon

South Korea is about to become one of the few countries to produce supersonic cruise missiles, senior defense officials said Monday.

Equipped with the new missiles, they said Seoul will be able to significantly improve its defense capabilities against North Korea’s missile and nuclear threats.

Currently, only the United States, Russia, France, China and India are known to possess supersonic cruise missiles.

“All I can say for now is that it will be able to fly faster than Mach 1,” a senior official at the state-run Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said on condition of anonymity.

Though he declined to provide more details as the project is classified, he noted that the supersonic missile is capable of evading the North’s defense systems and striking launch pads with high accuracy.

A ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MOFAT) confirmed that the latest cruise missile is named Haeseong II, supersonic modification of the anti-ship Haeseong I.

Seoul developed the Haeseong I with a range of 150 kilometers in 2003 and deployed them on KDX-II and Aegis-equipped KDX-III destroyers, each carrying eight and 16, respectively.

“The Haeseong II is a ship-to-surface cruise missile, designed to strike ground targets,” said the official who serves as a liaison between the U.S. and Korean governments over missile development.

“Korea has been independently developing it without technology transfer from the United States, but has been closely consulting with Washington in accordance with the New Missile Guidelines (NMG) agreed between the two allies.”

The two sides signed the NMG in January 2001, which requires Seoul to give Washington prior notification of any missile test-firing in return for easing some restrictions on development.

The official added that the Haeseong II will not be exported as Korea is a member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the multinational effort to restrict the proliferation of missiles.

The MTCR prohibits the export of missiles, unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), and related technology for systems capable of carrying a 500 kilogram payload for at least 300 kilometers.

An informed source said that the Haeseong II will be deployed around 2013 when the development of vertical and slant launch systems will be completed.

He added that the missile range will exceed 500 kilometers, allowing Seoul to hit most of the major military facilities in North Korea and preempt any attacks.

Earlier, anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks revealed a U.S. diplomatic cable that gave a glimpse into the development of the missile.

According to the WikiLeaks, Korea carried out about 10 tests of the Haeseong II between September 2007 and November 2009 in Anheung Proving Ground in the western coastal city of Taean, South Chungcheong Province.

The empty weight of the Haeseong II is about 1,000 kilograms and it can carry about 270 kilograms of fuel, according to a document classified as secret and written on Aug. 31, 2007 by the U.S. Embassy in Seoul.

According to another embassy cable from March 13, 2009, “Production is planned to commence in 2010,” but the MOFAT official refuted this, saying further tests are scheduled.

He also noted that the U.S. Embassy classified Haeseong as UAV as it has a sophisticated, built-in control and guidance system, but it should be regarded as a cruise missile as it is not reusable once launched.

“The Haeseong II is not an UAV since it not capable of carrying out multiple missions and is not designed for reconnaissance. Its prime objective is destroying enemy targets,” the official said.

한국 초음속 함대지 순항 미사일 극비 개발 중

한국이 몇 안 되는 초음속 순항 미사일 보유국가가 될 날이 얼마 남지 않았다.

익명을 요구한 관계자들에 의하면 현재 기밀사업으로 초음속 미사일 개발 프로젝트가 진행되고 있기 때문이다.

이들은 초음속 순항미사일 개발이 완료되면 한국은 북한의 미사일과 핵 위협으로부터 방어하는데 크게 발전 할 수 있다고 밝혔다.

현재 미국, 러시아, 프랑스, 중국과 인도 정도의 국가만 초음속 크루즈 미사일을 보유하고 있다고 알려져 있다.

“내가 현재로서 말 할 수 있는 것은 마하 1보다 더 빠르게 날 수 있다는 정도” 라며 한 방위사업청의 관련자가 말했다.

그는 현재 기밀사업으로 프로젝트가 진행되고 있어 더 상세하게 설명하기는 곤란하나, 개발중인 초음속 순항 미사일은 북한의 미사일 방어 시스템 피하고 미사일 발사 기지대 정확하게 공격 할 수 있다고 말했다.

이 프로젝트를 외교통상부의 한 관계자에 따르면 최신 해성 II는 함대함 순항 미사일인 해성 I의 업그레이드 버젼이며 북한 기지 등을 정밀 타격할 수 있는 함대지 미사일이라 밝혔다. 해성 I은 150km의 사정거리를 가지고 있고 2003년 개발되었다..

관계자에 따르면 해성II는 수직 발사대 등이 완성되는 2013년 정도에 실전 배치 될 예정이다.

그는 해성 II 사정거리가 500km를 넘어 북한의 모든 주요 군 기지를 공격 할 수 있고, 필요 시 적의 위협을 사전에 무력화하는데 사용될 수 있다 밝혔다.