Text Fwd: Seoul deploying 1,500km cruise missiles

Korea Times
Seoul deploying 1,500km cruise missiles
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff reporter
07-18-2010 18:15

South Korea has developed a surface-to-surface cruise missile with a maximum range of 1,500 kilometers, defense sources here said Sunday, following the deployment of 1,000-kilometer-range missiles last year.

The new long-range missile, developed by the state-funded Agency for Defense Development (ADD), is capable of reaching as far as China and parts of eastern Russia, as well as hitting key targets anywhere in North Korea.

The Ministry of National Defense, the ADD and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration neither confirmed nor denied the fact.

“The deployment of the 1,500-kilometer-range Hyunmoo III-C has already started,” a source told The Korea Times. “The long-range missile will fully cover all North Korean missile facilities, including those located in regions bordering China.”

North Korea is believed to have more than 600 Scud missiles with a range of 320 to 500 kilometers and 200 Rodongs with a range of 1,300 kilometers. It is also developing a 6,700-kilometer intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach part of the U.S. mainland.

The source said the deployment of the long-range missile is also aimed at deterring potential threats in the region.

“I can’t say much about the missile’s technology, but the timing of media reports about the missile is intriguing,” the source said, apparently referring to a recent row between South Korea and China over a planned naval exercise by the South and the United States in the West Sea, or Yellow Sea.

In the face of China’s opposition, South Korea and the United States decided to change the venue for the exercise from the West Sea to the East Sea. Public criticism is growing here about the decision, with critics saying the Seoul government has given in to China’s “political pressure.”

Seoul has focused on developing a long-range cruise missile that doesn’t violate the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which only applies to high-velocity, free-flight ballistic missiles and excludes slower, surface-skimming cruise weapons.

The MTCR is an informal and voluntary regime of more than 30 countries that seeks to limit missile proliferation by restricting exports of missiles with a range of 300 kilometers or more and capable of delivering a 500-kilogram payload.

South Korea joined the regime in 2001.

Faced with the growing North Korean missile threat, calls have increased here to revise the 2001 agreement that prevents Seoul from building missiles with ranges beyond 300 kilometers.

South Korea has the 300-kilometer-range Hyunmoo ballistic missile, jointly developed by the ADD and local company LIG Nex1, which is capable of striking Pyongyang and Shinuiju in the North, as well as North Korean short and medium-range missile sites in Shinsangri and Gitaeryeong.

But the missile can’t hit more distant North Korean missile sites, such as the Musudan-ri site, more than 300 kilometers from Seoul.

The South Korean Army began deploying the 1,000-kilometer-range Hyunmoo III-B cruise missile last year. It is capable of reaching as far as Beijing and Tokyo, as well as hitting key targets anywhere in North Korea, officials here say.

The cruise missile is known to be accurate to within five meters, aided by a terrain-contour matching system.

국문은 원사이트에서 제공

한국, 사정거리 1500kn 순항미사일 개발

우리 군과 국방과학연구소(ADD)가 사정거리 1500㎞에 달하는 국산 순항(크루즈) 미사일을 개발한 것으로 알려졌다. 사거리 1500km의 순항 미사일 개발에 성공한 것은 세계에서 미국, 러시아, 이스라엘에 이어 4번째다.

군 관계자는 17일 “국방과학연구소가 2008년부터 사정거리 1500㎞의 지대지순항미사일인 ‘현무-3C’ 탐색개발에 들어가 양산에 성공했다”고 밝혔다. 군은 올해 안으로 중부전선에 이 미사일을 실전 배치할 예정인 것으로 전해졌다.

이 관계자는 “현무-3C가 실전에 배치되면 핵시설을 포함한 북한의 주요 군사시설이 모두 우리 군의 사정거리에 들어오게 된다”며 이 미사일은 정확도가 떨어지는 북한의 스커드 계열 미사일과 달리 목표물을 1~2ｍ 오차로 명중시킬 수 있다고 밝혔다.

우리나라는 미사일기술통제체제(MTCR)에 따라 사거리 300㎞ 이상 탄도미사일을 개발할 수 없지만 순항미사일은 탄두중량이 500kg을 넘지 않으면 사거리에 관계없이 개발할 수 있다.

군 관계자는 “현무-3C의 개발로 개전 초기 북한의 주요 군사시설을 정밀 공격할 수 있게 돼 효과적인 전쟁 억제 수단이 될 것으로 기대한다”고 말했다.
gallantjung@koreatimes.co.kr