South Korea’s Military Develops ‘Monster Missile’ and Hypersonic Weapons in Response to North Korean Threats

Hyunmoo-5 destroys North Korean underground deep mine at the speed of Mach 10
Hypersonic missiles… “Kill chain” for preemptive strikes
Developing super cavitating underwater torpedo, similar to North Korea’s “nuclear torpedo”

As North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations threatening the security of the Korean Peninsula intensify, military tensions are rising. If North Korea’s provocations become a reality, how can our military respond and retaliate? The military authorities are confident in the ability of both South Korea and the United States to monitor and track North Korea’s provocations and respond immediately. After his taking office, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik has also shown strong confidence by demonstrating a strong will to retaliate based on the principle of “punishing them immediately, strongly, and until the end (PISU)” if North Korea provokes it.

The new weapons of our military that can respond to North Korea’s military provocations are weapons that are the center of the “Korean-style three-axis system.” The three-axis system refers to the “Kill Chain” that preemptively strikes North Korean nuclear weapons and missiles in a crisis, the “Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD)” that intercepts missiles fired by North Korea, and the “Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR)” system that launches a large number of ballistic missiles to retaliate against North Korea.

In an April interview with U.S. Reuters, President Yoon Suk Yeol attracted attention by revealing that “we are developing ultra-high-performance, high-power weapons by strengthening surveillance, reconnaissance, and intelligence analysis capabilities.” This refers to the “secret weapons” our military is developing or improving. Since President Yoon’s remarks that day, interest has been focused on the secret weapons being developed by the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) and the military.

The core military power building the Korean-style three-axis system

Ultra-high-performance, high-power weapons belong to the “secret” weapons that the military authorities are secretly developing. President Yoon’s mention refers to secret weapons that the military is expanding or improving in performance. In this regard, the military authorities avoided specific mention of the ultra-high-performance weapons that President Yoon revealed while stating that they are continuously securing advanced military power in preparation for various threats from North Korea.

It can be estimated to some extent that at the 75th anniversary of the founding of South Korea’s Armed Forces commemorative event held at Seongnam Seoul Airport and downtown Seoul (parade) on September 26 last year, advanced new weapons of the South Korean military, such as high-power ballistic missiles, stealth UAVs, and domestic Long-range Surface-to-Air Missiles (L-SAM), were first revealed. A total of 164 various weapons and equipment participated in the parade that day.

Military experts are primarily citing the “Hyunmoo-5” ballistic missile with the world’s largest warhead weight and the “hypersonic missile” that can be used for preemptive strikes when signs of North Korea’s attack are detected as our military’s new weapons.

The top candidate for the new weapon is the Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, also known as the “monster missile.” The Hyunmoo-5 is known to be designed to be equipped with the world’s heaviest 8 to 9-ton warhead and descend at a speed of Mach 10 (10 times the speed of sound) or higher. The flight video was briefly released at the Armed Forces Day commemoration event last October 2022.

Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, explained, “While North Korea is devising a nuclear-centered strategy, our military is focusing on researching precision strike weapons that are difficult for North Korea to defend. (Hyunmoo-5) can perfectly destroy North Korea’s underground deep mine command and strategic targets.”

In particular, the “hypersonic cruise missile,” secretly being developed, is an indispensable strategic weapon. A missile is usually classified as a “hypersonic missile” if its speed exceeds Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound) or higher. It flies at a fast speed and low altitude, making it difficult for the enemy to detect. Also, since the flight trajectory can be freely changed, it is considered a weapon that can “preemptively strike” North Korean nuclear and missile facilities.

The Ministry of National Defense also stated in the 2023 New Year’s business report that “we will strengthen our precision strike capability against all areas of North Korea by securing core technologies for hypersonic glide vehicles (missiles).”

Our military also greatly enhances ultra-precision, long-range missiles such as high-performance Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missile (KTSSM) and Air-to-Ground Missile (AGM) to respond to North Korean nuclear and missile threats. It is a measure to immediately strike high payoff targets such as North Korea’s nuclear and missile bases and the war command where wartime Kim Jong Un, chairman of the State Affairs Commission, and other leaders gather, and mobile targets such as transporter erector launcher (TELs).

Weapons such as “Carbon Fiber Bombs,” also known as “Blackout Bombs,” paralyze the C4I (Command, Control, Communication, Computer, and Intelligence) system between the war command and the frontline units by neutralizing the power transmission network in a crisis, and EMP (Electromagnetic Pulse) weapons that emit powerful electromagnetic waves in enemy airspace to disable equipment are also being developed. The EMP bomb being developed by the ADD is almost completed, and the blackout bomb has also been reported to have made significant technical progress.

The “Blackout Bom” that destroys the North Korean power network with a single shot

The EA-18G electronic warfare aircraft of the U.S. Navy uses powerful radio jamming devices to disable enemy radars and communication equipment. The ADD and domestic companies are pushing for full-scale development of this. A high-performance large underwater launching device is also being developed. It can launch a supercavitating underwater torpedo similar to the “nuclear torpedo” revealed by North Korea.

In addition, the development project for the “Korean version of Growler,” an electronic warfare aircraft that paralyzes North Korea’s air defense network and wireless command communication system in the event of a crisis, is also starting. ADD and defense companies are jointly promoting it, and the expected project cost to be invested is about 1.85 trillion won ($1.4 billion).

The Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile (L-SAM), also known as the “Korean version of THAAD,” will soon reveal its appearance. L-SAM is being developed to intercept North Korean ballistic missiles flying at altitudes of 50-60 km.

In addition, they are speeding up the development of the long-range artillery interception system (Korean version of Iron Dome), which disables North Korean long-range artillery, and the improved version (Block III) of the Medium-range Surface-to-Air Missile (M-SAM). Our military plans to build the Korea Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) for dense, complex, multi-layer defense with these weapons.

Above all, the pinnacle is to launch four electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) satellites and build a real-time detection/tracking/surveillance system against North Korea through the “425 project,” a military reconnaissance satellite project. The first reconnaissance satellite successfully landed in space orbit on Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket last December. It will start full-fledged mission performance in the second half of this year.