By Kang Seung-woo
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) unveiled its latest cruise missile that can be fired from either a submarine or surface ship, Thursday. The missile has a range of 1,500 kilometers and can cover all of North Korea.
The disclosure came days after the North conducted its third nuclear test. Photos released by the Navy show the missile being fired from a 4,400-ton KDX-II destroyer and 1,800-ton submarine during a recent naval exercise.
The Navy is conducting large-scale naval exercises involving some 20 ships in the East and West seas from Wednesday through Saturday.
In the East Sea, four patrol combat corvettes, two guided-missile patrol killers and other warships participated in the drill, while the West Sea drill includes a destroyer, a frigate and four patrol combat corvettes, according to the Navy.
“The West Sea drill is being executed to brace for the North’s various provocative operations near the Northern Limit Line (NLL),” a Navy official said.
Adm. Choi Yun-hee, the chief of naval operations, paid a visit to Sejong the Great, a high-tech Aegis-equipped destroyer, and ordered its crew “to build the capability of performing pinpoint strikes on the enemy’s core facilities.”
The South Korean and U.S. Air Forces began a two-day joint drill on the same day, the Korean Air Force said.
“Korea’s KF-16, F-15K and the U.S. side’s F-16C will participate in the exercise,” an Air Force official said.
On the ground, ROK Army near the border also conducted live-fire drills with missiles, rockets and cannons simulating a combat situation.
The large-scale exercises came two days after the North detonated a nuclear device at an underground test site in Gilju County, North Hamgyeong Province.
“The cruise missile unveiled today is accurate enough to strike the window of the office of North Korea’s leadership,” MND spokesman Kim Min-seok said in a briefing.
Army Maj. Gen. Yoo Young-jo said, “This is a weapon that can restrict the enemy’s command in case of war.”
However, the military declined to detail the range of the missile, but said that it is capable of hitting anywhere in North Korea. The ministry also announced Wednesday that the South Korean military will speed up producing 800-kilometer range ballistic missiles in order to counter the North’s nuclear threats.
The ministry’s disclosure of the missile is seen as a warning to the isolated state that says the South can go head-to-head with the North in terms of military action.
In addition, it is expected to help ease people’s concerns over national security as the North has ramped up its military threats.
Along with the missile disclosure, Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin visited a missile unit and ordered troops to stay vigilant and prepare for additional provocations.