Nuclear Restraint, Missile Dominance: South Korea’s Unique Path

South Korea is a country that prohibits the use of nuclear weapons
The solution is to increase the weight of missile warheads
Missiles targeting North Korean military command facilities

South Korea dominates North Korea in almost all areas. This is also true for military power, and there is not a single force in the army, navy, and air force that is inferior to North Korea. However, the only areas where South Korea was on par with, or to put it bluntly, weaker than North Korea were missile and nuclear power.

However, South Korea is trying to overcome these limitations with advanced missile technology. A prime example is the high-power ballistic missile development project, which we will examine in detail.

Successful test of 6t warhead missile
Testing the world’s largest warhead missile

In 2021, the Korean military successfully tested a missile equipped with a 6t warhead. As the Moon Jae-in administration pushed for independent national defense, investment and research in missile power have been conducted, gradually catching up with North Korea’s asymmetric power.

In addition, based on the unique firepower grounds philosophy of the Korean military, it is speculated that they are also virtually completing the development of a missile equipped with the world’s largest 8t warhead and conducting tests to see if it can be deployed in actual combat. So why couldn’t such research have been undertaken until now?

Thanks to the abolition of the US-Korea missile guidelines
Removal of range and warhead weight restrictions

This is because the US-Korea missile range guidelines imposed restrictions on the weight and range of missiles operated by South Korea. Therefore, no matter how much missile research Korea did, it could not test or use it in actual combat.

Fortunately, the restriction on the weight of missiles, initially 500kg, was removed in the third amendment in 2017. So, it seems that they tried to increase the size of the warheads and their power from this point. However, the range restriction remained at 800km until the end, and this also disappeared when the guidelines were abolished in 2021.

Ability to destroy North Korea’s underground facilities

An 8t-class warhead is the world’s largest missile warhead, and when it flies at 5 to 6 times the speed of sound, it hits the ground. It is expected to show destructive and penetrating power beyond that of a small tactical nuclear weapon. Therefore, it is speculated that this missile will be used to strike North Korea’s mostly underground tunnels and command posts.