South Korea has tested a new type of ballistic missile for its new arsenal ships, a move that may have more to do with techno-nationalism and masking its nuclear ambitions than improving its defenses vis-à-vis North Korea.
This month, Defense Post reported that South Korea announced the successful test of the Hyunmoo-V ballistic missile after undergoing trial blasts earlier this year.
Defense Post notes that South Korea plans to begin Hyunmoo-V mass production this year, with an annual capacity of 70 missiles and a production target of 200 units. They will equip the Joint Strike Ship now under development by Hanwha Ocean.
The report notes that Hyunmoo-V is the latest in South Korea’s Hyunmoo ballistic missile family, with a maximum range of 3,000 kilometers and an eight-ton warhead designed to destroy enemy underground command centers, nuclear missile bases and other critical facilities at speeds close to Mach 10.
Defense Post also reports that the Hyunmoo V delivers massive “earthquake power”, which can reportedly trigger tunnel collapses through artificial earthquakes.
Naval News reported this month on South Korea’s Joint Strike Ship, a model of which was unveiled last month at the MADEX exhibition in Busan. That report mentions that the Joint Strike Ship is based on the upcoming KDDX-class destroyer hull and is envisioned to carry as many as 100 missiles.
Naval News notes that while legacy arsenal ship concepts have been criticized for being slow, large and vulnerable targets, the Joint Strike Ship features heavy defensive armament.
That includes two LIG Nex1 Close-in Weapons Systems-II (CIWS-II) at the bow and stern for point defense against short-range missiles and aircraft, and 48 KVLS-I cells loaded with K-SAAM surface-to-air (SAM) missiles for medium-range air defense.
The Joint Strike Ship features an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar on the same I-MAST integrated mast on the KDDX for detection and fire control. The ship also has two MASS chaff decoy launchers for use against missiles and two anti-torpedo decoy launchers on top of its superstructure and aft.
The Joint Strike Ship has a formidable main armament. Naval News reports that it has 32 KVLS-II cells behind the integrated mast amidships, which can hold Haesung-II cruise missiles and new L-SAM versions that have just started development.
The report also says the ship has 15 missile tubes for ballistic missiles, which are thought to be the Hyunmoo-IV-2, a surface ship version of the Hyunmoo-IV.
The Joint Strike Ship also has two erectable stern launchers for the Hyunmoo-V missile, with their placement meaning that the ship would need a resupply vessel to reload at sea.
Asia Times noted in April 2023 that the Joint Strike Ship’s design reflects South Korea’s strategic constraint from officially being prohibited from having nuclear weapons as a signatory to the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Seoul is also restrained by a 1991 Joint Declaration with North Korea in which both sides agree not to test, manufacture, produce, receive, possess, store, deploy or use nuclear weapons.
North Korea has blatantly violated the agreement by conducting six nuclear tests since 2006 while so-called Six-Party Talks on its nuclear program have indefinitely stalled.
Given all that, South Korea has been developing conventional deterrents such as aircraft carriers and ballistic missile submarines, and has recently raised the possibility of acquiring nuclear weapons.
However, it may be challenging for South Korea to maintain Joint Strike Ships at round-the-clock readiness compared to traditional land-based ballistic missiles. The ships would inevitably be a priority target for North Korean attacks.
Furthermore, South Korea’s large fleet of conventional submarines can launch missiles deep into North Korea’s territory, conducting the same missions as the Joint Strike Ship while being more survivable.
In April 2022, South Korea successfully tested a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the ROKS Dosan Ahn Changho, a missile that analysts say may be too expensive to be used with anything less than a nuclear warhead.
Asia Times reported in June 2022 that South Korea may be planning to build nuclear-powered submarines following an agreement with the US regarding the sharing of small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) technology that has been used in such vessels for decades.
The critical technology could pave the way for Seoul’s longstanding plans to acquire such naval vessels. The publicly announced agreement marked a significant change in US nuclear policy towards South Korea dating back to 1972, which restricts the transfer of sensitive nuclear technology.
South Korea launched a nuclear submarine development program in 2003. It was terminated the following year after it was discovered that its scientists had enriched uranium in 2000, dabbling in a technology that could be used to make nuclear weapons.
That setback notwithstanding, South Korea never gave up its nuclear submarine ambitions, partly driven by fears that the US might not fully come to its defense in a conflict with North Korea.
South Korea’s political and military rationale for acquiring nuclear-powered submarines is unclear given its conventional military overmatch versus North Korea, capable conventional submarine fleet and divergence with the US position regarding China, North Korea’s longtime military ally and economic lifeline.
What is clear is that South Korean political and popular sentiment in favor of having nuclear weapons is steadily rising.
Asia Times reported in January 2023 on South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s announcement that he might consider building tactical nuclear weapons, marking the first time a South Korean leader raised the possibility since 1991.
South Korean public sentiment in favor of acquiring nuclear weapons is running high, with a February 2022 study by the Carnegie Endowment for Regional Peace showing that 71% of the South Korean public favor having nuclear weapons. The same study found 56% of South Koreans support US deployment of nuclear weapons in their country.
Regarding whether South Korea should have an independent nuclear arsenal, the study shows that 67% prefer it, with only 9% opposing the placement of US nuclear weapons in the country.
While South Korea’s Joint Strike Ships and nuclear-powered submarines may make questionable strategic sense, techno-nationalism may be its driving factor in building large warships that are more international prestige symbols than effective combatants.
Given that, South Korea’s deterrent strategy may be to maintain nuclear latency by researching the technologies necessary for a nuclear arsenal, with the Hyunmoo-V a potential delivery system for a nuclear warhead should the contingency arise.