South Korea presented its Hyunmoo-5 surface-to-surface ballistic missile to the public for the first time at its 76th Annual Armed Forces Day parade held in Seoul.
It was unveiled together with around 5,000 troops and 340 other weapons and military platforms displayed in part as a warning to North Korea, which revealed its uranium enrichment facility last month.
The event also highlighted the country’s newly established Strategic Command tasked with overseeing and countering the Kim Jong Un regime’s nuclear and missile threats.
South Korea’s ‘Most Powerful Missile’
The Hyunmoo-5 is dubbed the military’s “monster missile,” capable of carrying warheads weighing eight to nine tons.
While many of its specific capabilities are classified, it’s reportedly strong enough to target an adversary’s underground bunker with a depth beyond 100 meters (238 feet), highlighting its ability to penetrate Pyongyang’s underground military command centers and missile silos.
As such, the monster missile is a key asset of Seoul’s three-axis defense system, a military strategy against its belligerent neighbor’s security threats.
Its development began in 2016.
Warning to North Korea
In his ceremony speech, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said, “If North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will face the resolute and overwhelming response of our military and the South Korea-US alliance. That day will be the end of the North Korean regime.”
Yoon also criticized the totalitarian government for its provocative actions, such as sending trash balloons, GPS jamming attacks, and denying the possibility of reunification.
“False peace, based on the enemy’s goodwill, is nothing but a mirage,” Yoon stated. “History has proven that the only way to safeguard peace is by strengthening our power so the enemy cannot dare challenge us.”
The US also flew its B-1B strategic bomber jets alongside Seoul military aircraft, its first time joining its East Asian ally’s parade.
National Defence of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea Vice Minister Kim Kang Il issued a press statement regarding Washington’s participation, saying that their “bluffing military demonstration is nothing but a ‘hallucinant’.”
“The Korean People’s Army is keenly watching the frequent deployment of US strategic assets and their traces in the Korean peninsula and is fully ready to thoroughly defend the security environment of the state from any threat,” he added.