[Exclusive] Development Completed for ‘Monster Missile’ Hyunmoo-5 to Target Kim Jong-un’s Bunker… Mass Production by Year-End [Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]

[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club]
Up to 200 Missiles to Be Deployed in Subunits under Missile Command
Hyunmoo-5 Planned to Be Equipped on Navy's Joint Firepower Ship

The Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile, known as the 'monster missile,' will enter full-scale mass production starting this year. The Hyunmoo-5 can carry the heaviest warhead in the world (8 to 9 tons) and is considered a strategic weapon capable of responding to North Korea's provocations.

According to a senior government official on the 3rd, the development of the Hyunmoo-5 was completed after test launches earlier this year, and mass production will begin by the end of this year. The official stated, "It is expected that the Hanwha Aerospace plant in Boeun will be able to produce up to about 70 units annually starting at the end of this year.”

Earlier, President Yoon Suk-yeol hinted at the deployment of the Hyunmoo-5 in an April interview with foreign media, mentioning North Korea's 'ultra-high-performance and ultra-powerful weapons.' 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 ballistic missile brigade under the Missile Command.

The military also plans to equip the Joint Firepower Ship, which the Navy is scheduled to possess, with the Hyunmoo-5. 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 on the 7th of last month. The Joint Firepower Ship is an 8,000-ton class vessel, comparable in size to a large Aegis destroyer, measuring 150 meters in length and about 20 meters in width.

The Hyunmoo-5 is a representative means of the Korean-style '3-axis' system's Massive Punishment and Retaliation (KMPR). It was developed to strike key facilities such as the war command center 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.

Along with the development of the Hyunmoo-5, the military plans to upgrade the performance of the existing ground-to-ground cruise missile Hyunmoo-3 (with a maximum range of 1,500 km). Unlike ballistic missiles that follow a fixed flight trajectory, cruise missiles fly at low altitudes for extended periods and increase hit accuracy by evading interception through evasive maneuvers and using seekers in the final phase. The U.S. representative cruise missile, the Tomahawk, can precisely hit targets by penetrating building windows.

The military also plans to upgrade the performance of the vehicle-type transporter erector launcher (TEL) that launches 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. Last month, the military revealed the upgraded Hyunmoo-2 during the largest-ever combined U.S.-South Korea joint and combined firepower annihilation exercise hosted by President Yoon Suk-yeol.

A military official said, “Under the supervision of the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), we are currently developing hypersonic missiles, high-performance tactical surface-to-surface missiles (KTSSM), electromagnetic pulse (EMP) warheads, and others, so they will be deployed together with the Hyunmoo-5 in the near future.”