SEUL, Jan 1 the launch of a new powerful ballistic «monster missile» of the «Hyeonmu» type, which should serve to contain the threat to the DPRK, reports Yonhap News Agency, citing an informed source.
According to the agency, the state agency for defense development (ADD) plans to test the Hyeonmu-5 missile at the Anheung test site in Tae'an on Friday. For areas near the range, a navigational warning was issued for Friday and Saturday.
The missile is reportedly capable of carrying a warhead weighing 8-9 tons with a thrust of 75 tons and descending at a speed of Mach 10 after reaching apogee. The maximum range is still unknown, but observers said the missile could fly 3,000 kilometers or more, which is in line with a medium-range missile.
In the media and among the military, the missile, which does not yet have an official name, has been nicknamed the «monster». It is believed that it will be called «Hyeonmu-5», and if successfully completed, it will become the most powerful missile in South Korea at the moment and the first South Korean medium-range missile.
Hyeonmu-5 is reported to be a response to the threat of North Korean tactical nuclear weapons, and will become one of the key elements of South Korea's three-axis «Massive Punishment and Retaliation» (KMPR) system, which involves responding with mass missile launches in the event of an attack from North Korea, and also includes Kill Chain pre-emptive strike systems and missile defense systems (KMDS).
Its predecessor «Hyeonmu-4», which is also under development and is designed to be launched from submarines, has a warhead of two tons and is capable of flying at distances of approximately 500-800 kilometers. During the test in April 2022, she flew 400 kilometers, then it was reported that she could soon be put into service.