In light of the North Korean shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, the South Korean military plans to install multiple Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), military sources said Friday.
Surface-to-surface missiles are launched from a vehicle. It is made to be extremely mobile with a range of nearly 165km. A modified version with additional propellant can reach targets even 300km away, the sources said.
Each missile carries 900 explosives that can completely level an area equivalent to four times the size of a football field.
While South Korea currently has 220 ATACMS bought from the U.S. between 1998 and 2004, the North operates artillery near the DMZ along with 170mm and 240mm rocket launchers with the capacity of completely devastating an area four times the size of Yeouido in Seoul.
An official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff claimed that he could neither confirm nor deny any facts regarding the operations and deployment of the ATACMS at this moment.