Asia-Pacific

ROK prepares new cruise missiles

By Li Xiaokun (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-19 10:16

New weapons can reach targets as far as 1,500 kilometers away

BEIJING - Seoul has developed a long-range cruise missile capable of reaching nuclear sites and military targets in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), as well as Beijing and Shanghai.

The Hyunmu-3C missile has a range of 1,500 km (930 miles), Seoul-based Chosun Ilbo newspaper reported on Saturday.

The new missile, if confirmed, would be the longest-range weapon in the arsenal of the Republic of Korea (ROK). The previous version of the Hyunmu had a range of only 1,000 km.

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ROK media said the lastest missile also makes the ROK the fourth country in the world to develop cruise missiles with a range of 1,500 km, after the US, Russia and Israel.

The surface-to-surface missile will be deployed along the border with the DPRK beginning this year, putting the country's major nuclear facilities within its range, the newspaper said.

The missile would also be able of hitting parts of China, Japan and Russia.

The ROK's Defense Ministry has not responded to the report, which cited unnamed military sources.

Pyongyang has developed missiles that can fly farther than the Seoul's Hyunmu-3C, but unlike cruise missiles, which can be accurately guided on their way to their destinations, the DPRK's long-range ballistic missiles cannot be steered in flight.

The DPRK's Taepodong-2 has a potential range of more than 6,700 km, putting Alaska within striking distance.

"The news is a signal of escalating confrontation between the DPRK and ROK," said Zhang Liangui, an expert on Korean affairs at the Party School of the Central Committee of Communist Party of China in Beijing.

Pyongyang has many missiles and artillery along the border with the ROK and has repeatedly threatened to turn Seoul, which is not much more than 40 km away from the border, into a "sea of fire" and has even made the ROK government consider relocating its capital, Zhang said.

"Now Seoul is fighting back by deploying cruise missiles, which put the whole northern part of the Korean Peninsula within its attacking range. The move is targeting Pyongyang so there is no need for China and other countries to worry," he said.

The news comes several days before US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Robert Gates visit Seoul on Wednesday to announce joint naval exercises with their ROK counterparts targeting Pyongyang.

The US, ROK and other nations have accused Pyongyang of firing a torpedo which sank the ROK warship Cheonan in March and caused the deaths of 46 crew members. Pyongyang strongly denies the allegations.

The UN Security Council last Friday issued a statement which condemned the attack but did not apportion blame - a result hailed by the DPRK as a "great diplomatic victory".

ROK Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan on Sunday expressed skepticism about Pyongyang's recent overtures to resume stalled Six-Party Talks - which involves the DPRK, ROK, China, US, Japan and Russia - saying Pyongyang was just trying to defuse pressure after the sinking.

Foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are also expected to express "deep concern" over the sinking without apportioning blame, according to a draft document published by AFP Sunday of the 10 foreign ministers' annual talks before they begin in Vietnam today.

Hillary Clinton will attend discussions on Friday in the ASEAN Regional Forum, Asia-Pacific's largest security dialogue, which will also involve foreign ministers from the DPRK, ROK, China and Japan.

Agencies contributed to this story.