There is a keen need for the South Korean military to develop its smaller (100 ~300 tons) submarine fleet so as to defend the West Sea in response to the asymmetrical threat of North Korea’s own capabilities in the area.
Liberty Forward Party lawmaker Lee Jin Sam told the National Assembly yesterday as part of its annual audit of the administration, “When we consider the fact that North Korea has sharply increased its submarine and semi-submergible training since the beginning of this year, we can see that they have continued to hit our military’s weak points since the Cheonan attack.”
Lee went on, “The 209- and 214-Class submarines our Navy operates are able to maneuver only when the water is at least 35~40m deep, so this actually means it is impossible to perform military operations in the West Sea. On the other hand, if we consider the fact that the minimum water depth for the operation of North Korea’s Shark Class submarines is 10~12m, it means that the West Sea coast is being dominated by the enemy’s submarines.”
According to Lee, the ROK Navy actually doesn’t currently have any way at all to prevent North Korea penetrating South Korean waters with small submarines in the shallow West Sea.
“To detect submarines, submarines are more effective than surface ships,” Lee said, noting in particular that patrol vessels and Lynx helicopters suffer from limited options when working in the West Sea area.
Lee also presented concerns that since North Korea is apparently engaged in efforts to jam GPS signals, it would be wise to shift the Joint Chiefs of Staff out of their range. The DMZ is only 40km from Seoul where the Joint Chiefs of Staff is currently located, making it vulnerable to North Korean attack.
“Assuming that the effective range of North Korea’s radio jamming equipment is 100km, Pyongtaek or Osan could be affected. On the other hand, the Gyeryong area where the headquarters of each of the armed forces are located is about 190km away, where the impact of North Korean radio frequency disturbance would be insignificant.”
