Will Cluster Munitions Be Supplied to US Forces in Korea for Ukraine?

USA and UK Already Support MLRS Capable of Using Cluster Munitions
No Producing Countries, Our Government May Request Indirect Support

The United States appears to be seriously supporting Ukraine with missiles. By allowing the use of the long-range missile ‘ATACMS’ capable of striking Russian mainland, there is speculation that it could also support ammunition from the US Forces Korea.

Combat firing training scene of the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS) held by the 5th Artillery Brigade (Photo by Ministry of National Defense)

According to government officials on the 19th, our government is reported to have received information from the US side approving the use of ATACMS. This implies a full-scale support of offensive weapons, and additional support of multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) ammunition, which has already been supplied, seems possible.

Britain and the United States have already supported Ukraine with MLRS. The issue lies with the ammunition. MLRS uses 227mm unguided rockets, known as cluster munitions. Each rocket carries about 900 submunitions, capable of striking an area three times the size of a soccer field at once. As an indiscriminate weapon of mass destruction, its power is enormous, and in some cases, the dud rate reaches 40%, potentially causing civilian casualties. For this reason, 120 countries worldwide signed the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) in 2010, which prohibits the use, manufacture, possession, and transfer of cluster munitions.

The United States and South Korea have not signed the CCM. The US currently deploys 2.2 million cluster munitions on its mainland and 1.5 million overseas, most of which are held by the US Forces Korea. The US Forces Korea use them in the MLRS battalion of the 210th Field Artillery Brigade stationed in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province. However, since 2018, they have ceased production and use of cluster munitions for MLRS.

Since they can only supply the ammunition currently held, there is a possibility that cluster munitions from the US Forces Korea could be supplied to Ukraine. Domestic production may also be requested. Hanwha Aerospace, which used to produce cluster munitions, established Korea Defense Industry (KDI) in 2020 by spinning off its cluster munitions business due to increased investment sanctions by European countries on cluster munition manufacturers. If requested by the US, KDI is expected to produce and provide indirect support.

An industry official said, “Since cluster munitions are no longer produced worldwide, to use the MLRS supplied to Ukraine, they have no choice but to request cluster munition support from our government.”