Seoul to Develop Guided Munitions to Counter Pyongyang's Threats

After North Korea’s hydrogen bomb test in early January, South Korea is elaborating ground-to-ground guided munitions as reciprocal actions.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South Korea is planning to develop ground-to-ground guided munitions in a response to threats posed by the North’s multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), local media reported Wednesday.

According to the Yonhap news agency, the South Korean National Defense Ministry released its five-year defense strategy. The new missiles will have a range of 75 miles and will be intended to destroy Pyongyang’s multiple rocket launchers and other long-range artillery weapons.

South Korea intends to finish developing the new munitions by 2018 and begin deploying them in 2019.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated after North Korea successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test in early January and put a satellite into orbit a month later, violating UN Security Council resolutions and triggering condemnation from the international community.

Pyongyang has fired multiple rocket launchers at least thrice in March alone, according to the news agency.