Seoul:
South Korea has test-fired a homegrown submarine-launched ballistic missile, a report mentioned Tuesday, as it seeks to create up its forces to defend itself from the nuclear-armed North.
Pyongyang has extended sought to create submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) technologies, and showed off 4 such devices at a military parade overseen by leader Kim Jong Un in January, with state media KCNA calling them “the world’s most powerful weapon”.
But though North Korea has released images of underwater launches, most lately in 2019, analysts think that was from a fixed platform or submersible barge, rather than a submarine.
South Korea’s Agency for Defense Development last week carried out underwater ejection tests of the SLBM from a new, locally created 3,000-tonne class submarine fitted with six vertical launching tubes, Yonhap reported, citing unnamed military sources.
The SLBM is believed to be a variant of the country’s Hyunmoo-2B ballistic missile, with a variety of about 500 kilometres (310 miles), and will be mass created for deployment immediately after an additional round of tests, it added.
South Korea joins only a handful of nations to have effectively created an SLBM.
Seoul on Monday allocated almost 1.5 trillion won ($1.3 billion) for defence technologies investigation and development next year in a spending budget request submitted to parliament.
If authorized, it will represent a 76 % jump in the investigation spending budget of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, which will be used to “actively develop cutting-edge, future technologies”, according to a press release.
Pyongyang is also searching to additional improve its submarine forces.
In January, Kim told a congress of his ruling Workers’ Party that the North had completed plans for a nuclear-powered submarine.
Any such vessel is probably to be years away from going into service, but analysts say it could be a strategic game-changer, enabling Pyongyang to launch a surprise strike underwater even if its land-based forces had been destroyed.
Kim inspected a newly constructed submarine in 2019, when images showed him standing next to a gigantic vessel accompanied by officials.
State media mentioned it would quickly be deployed for operations, devoid of providing information of its capabilities.
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