Jun Ji-hye, a reporter at the finance desk of The Korea Times, focuses primarily on economic policy and government agencies, mainly covering the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Ministry of Budget and Planning, the National Tax Service and the Korea Customs Service. She previously covered financial authorities, including the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, and earlier worked on the political, city and business desks, reporting on a wide range of issues.
S. Korea to create submarine operational plans
By Jun Ji-hye
Adm. Choi Yoon-hee JCS Chairman
By Jun Ji-hye
The Navy plans to create new operational plans for its submarine force to better deter threats from North Korea, as well as other potential enemies, according to Adm. Choi Yoon-hee, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), Thursday.
“For key capability in operational and strategic terms, the Submarine Force Command needs to materialize a proactive and offensive concept of operations suitable for the combat circumstances of our time,” Choi said.
He made the remarks during a visit to the Navy’s first-ever submarine command in the port city of Jinhae, South Gyeongsang Province.
The move is part of the Navy’s ongoing efforts to strengthen its undersea fighting capability and improve combat readiness. On Feb. 1, the Navy inaugurated the command, which is comprised of nine 1,200-ton and four 1,800-ton submarines.
It also comes at a time when the North is maintaining a significant numerical superiority with a fleet of 70 subs ― 20 of them being the 1,800-ton Romeo class. The South Korean authorities believe the North is developing the capability of firing submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM).
“The North is developing SLBM and a high-speed, wave piercing craft called the Very Slender Vessel (VSV),” Choi said, instructing sailors of the command to hone their “one shot, one sink” skills to counter any provocations.
The VSV is believed to be aimed at infiltrating the inter-Korean sea border to quickly occupy South Korean border islands in case of war.
South Korea, which commissioned its first submarine Changbogo from Germany in 1992, is the sixth nation in the world with a submarine command after the United States, Japan, France, Britain and India.
A naval officer said that the command allows the Navy to unify submarine-related operations, education, training, maintenance and logistical support.
The Navy plans to add five more 1,800-ton submarines to be built by 2019, as well as deploying nine 3,000-ton submarines capable of launching ballistic missiles in the 2020s.
“The Navy will continue to develop precise and powerful underwater weapons for our submarines,” a JCS officer said on condition of anonymity, without elaborating.
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