South Korea has proven off its strongest ballistic missile for the primary time in an annual army parade which indicators the nation’s readiness to reply to North Korean threats.
The Hyunmoo-5 – which analysts say is able to carrying an 8-tonne typical warhead that may penetrate deep into the earth and destroy underground bunkers in North Korea – was the centrepiece of the Armed Forces Day parade at a Seoul airbase which additionally included some 5,300 troops, 340 sorts of army tools and plane flypasts.
A second, smaller parade occurred on the streets of Seoul, drawing massive crowds.
“If North Korea makes an attempt to make use of nuclear weapons, it’ll face the resolute and overwhelming response of our army and the [South Korea]-US alliance,” President Yoon Suk-yeol informed 1000’s of troops who gathered on the base on Tuesday. “That day would be the finish of the North Korean regime.”
“The North Korean regime should abandon the delusion that nuclear weapons will defend them,” Yoon stated.
Since taking workplace in 2022, Yoon has revived the custom of annual army parades as a part of his technique of “peace by way of energy”, and has backed a stronger army alliance with the US in addition to nearer cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo.
This yr’s parade additionally included a flypast by a United States B-1B strategic bomber for the primary time, whereas the US Eighth Military band and an armoured Stryker brigade additionally took half.
Dubbed a “monster missile” by South Korean media, the Hyunmoo-5 was examined efficiently final yr.
The army launched the weapon because the “extremely high-power Hyunmoo ballistic missile”, which was positioned on two nine-axle transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) autos.
The Hyunmoo-5 is categorised as short-range, but when topped with a 1-tonne warhead – typical for ballistic missiles – its vary can exceed 5,000km (3,107 miles), in keeping with Yu Yong-weon, a lawmaker on South Korea’s parliamentary defence committee.
Yoon’s workplace stated the missile performs a key position within the nation’s “three-axis” defence system geared toward neutralising North Korea’s nuclear provocations, together with warfare plans that decision for preemptive strikes if needed.
Hours earlier than the ceremony, Kim Kang Il, North Korea’s vice defence minister, criticised the B-1B’s deliberate flypast and likewise accused Washington of conducting a “reckless army bluff” by just lately sending a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea.
Final month, North Korea launched photos of its uranium enrichment facility. It has additionally continued to conduct common check launches of weapons in defiance of worldwide sanctions.
