Seoul says developing more powerful missiles

A new weapon with flight range of 350-400km among the new missiles

South Korea is in the final stages of developing a ballistic missile that can carry a warhead of up to 3 tons, Yonhap news agency reported yesterday, as the country unveiled budget proposals aimed at bolstering its defences against North Korea.

In its defence blueprint for 2022-2026, the defence ministry said it would develop new missiles “with significantly enhanced destructive power”, upgrade missile defence systems and deploy new interceptors against longrange artillery. “We will develop stronger, longer-range and more precise missiles so as to exercise deterrence and achieve security and peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the ministry said.

Among those missiles is a new weapon with a flight range of 350-400km and a payload of up to 3 tonnes, designed to destroy underground facilities such as those North Korea is believed to use to store nuclear weapons, Yonhap reported.

The missile would be the latest in a tit-for-tat conventional missile race between the two Koreas that is set to accelerate after South Korea and the United States agreed to scrap all bilateral restrictions on Seoul’s missile development earlier this year.