[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] The Monster Missile Revealed in Reality

Hyunmoo Missile Unveiled at Armed Forces Day Ceremony
Hyunmoo-5, Comparable to Nuclear Arsenal, Begins Production This Year

Our military has unveiled the high-power Hyunmoo missile, which was classified as a covert (庇匿) project and whose official designation was not even disclosed. The Hyunmoo missile, revealed for the first time at the 75th Armed Forces Day ceremony, is a key weapon system within the three-axis system that forms the core of North Korea nuclear deterrence.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 26th, the military showcased the Hyunmoo series missile at the Armed Forces Day ceremony held at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. It appears to be the Hyunmoo-4 ballistic missile. The Hyunmoo-4 is a new ballistic missile upgraded from the Hyunmoo-2, with the 'Hyunmoo-4-1' being a surface-to-surface ballistic missile, the 'Hyunmoo-4-2' a ship-to-surface ballistic missile, and the 'Hyunmoo-4-4' a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

The military plans to produce a new missile called the 'Hyunmoo-5' in the future. The Hyunmoo-5 is a representative means of the Korean-style three-axis system’s Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR), developed to strike key facilities such as the war command centers where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and other top officials gather, as well as nuclear and missile bases in case of emergency. The Hyunmoo-5 is a heavy missile designed to deliver destruction comparable to nuclear weapons in a non-nuclear situation, capable of destroying targets such as tunnels or bunkers deeper than 100 meters underground.

The detailed specifications of the high-power Hyunmoo are classified. The Hyunmoo-5 is known as a ‘monster missile’ with a warhead weight of 8 to 9 tons and a total weight of 36 tons. Because the warhead weight has been increased to an abnormal extent, it is expected that its destructive power within a limited range will be comparable to tactical nuclear weapons. Therefore, it is considered the optimal weapon system for destroying underground bunkers where the North Korean leadership hides, and a core means of the ‘three-axis system’ and Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR), which are central to deterrence against North Korea.

Hyunmoo-5 Production of About 70 Units This Year and Deployment to Missile Command
Equipped on Navy Joint Firepower Ships, Effectively Tactical Nuclear-Level Force

The Hyunmoo-5 development was completed after test launches starting early this year, and mass production will begin by the end of this year. Hanwha Aerospace’s Boeun factory is expected to produce up to about 70 units annually starting at the end of this year. Once produced, the military plans to deploy up to 200 units to units under the Missile Command. The Hyunmoo-5 is expected to be deployed to units such as the 1200th Battalion, a subordinate unit of the Missile Command’s ballistic missile brigade.

In particular, the military plans to equip the Hyunmoo-5 on joint firepower ships that the Navy will possess. Hanwha Ocean (formerly Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) unveiled a model of the joint firepower ship for the first time at the International Maritime Defense Industry Exhibition (MADEX 2023) held at BEXCO in Busan this year. The joint firepower ship is about 150 meters long, 20 meters wide, with a displacement of 8,000 tons, comparable in size to a large Aegis destroyer.

Meanwhile, the military also possesses the Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missile and the Hyunmoo-3 cruise missile. Plans are underway to upgrade the performance of the vehicle-type transporter erector launcher (TEL) that fires the Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missile. Currently, the TEL can launch one Hyunmoo-2 missile, but it will be replaced with a launcher capable of firing two missiles. The military previously revealed the upgraded Hyunmoo-2 during the largest-ever combined US-ROK joint firepower annihilation exercise hosted by President Yoon Suk-yeol.

The surface-to-surface cruise missile Hyunmoo-3 (with a maximum range of 1,500 km) will also undergo performance upgrades. Unlike ballistic missiles that follow a fixed flight trajectory, cruise missiles fly at low altitudes for extended periods and increase hit accuracy by performing evasive maneuvers and using seekers during the final phase to avoid interception. The US’s representative cruise missile, the Tomahawk, is precise enough to penetrate a building’s window and hit the target accurately.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.