Seoul has joined a prestigious military club
South Korea has announced that it has successfully fired a ballistic missile from a submarine, AFP reports.
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The missile was fired from a submarine that was recently commissioned and successfully hit its target. The launch was monitored by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
The Dosan Ahn Chang-ho class submarine is a joint development of the special units of Hyundai and Daewoo. The displacement is 3,000 tons. The submarine can launch a rocket while submerged.
See what the Dosan Ahn Chang-ho class submarine looks like >> >> >>
The submarine is armed with Hyunmoo 4-4 missiles, which are a variant of Hyunmoo-2B. They are two-stage and solid fuel, and their range is 500 kilometers. The warhead of the 12-meter missile weighs 1 ton.
However, Seoul plans to develop its missile program, with $ 271 billion earmarked to improve the country’s combat capabilities over five years.
North Korea also has the capability to launch submarine ballistic missiles, having one submarine with a displacement of 1,500 tons. Pyongyang is believed to be building two more similar submarines, but with larger dimensions and capabilities.
South Korea is the eighth country to join the club of countries that can launch ballistic missiles from submarines. Russia, the United States, China, France, India, Britain and North Korea have such opportunities. Israel can launch cruise missiles, but not ballistic missiles, from a submarine.
Possessing ballistic missiles that can be launched from the sea to land is extremely important in terms of dealing with threats that come from several directions. It will play a key role in our autonomous national defense and in establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula in the future, the South Korean presidency said.
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