Under the watch of South Korea’s President
Park Geun Hye last week, South Korea successfully test-fired a ballistic missile with a
range far enough to hit anywhere in North Korea.
Kim Jong Un directly observed the test
shooting of submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM) and increased the
number of military personnel and equipment in waters near the northwest
islands. However, Park’s recent actions demonstrated her determination not to yield to Kim’s threats and carry out stronger measures to deter North
Korea.
Park’s visit to the to the test site was
the first by an incumbent president, who also serves as commander-in-chief of
the nations’ military.
Defense Ministry officials declined to
divulge details on the range and payload of the missiles that were test fired,
but South Korea media reported that anonymous military sources said the missiles,
called Hyunmoo-2B, have a range of over 500m.
Hyunmoo-2B will serve as a major component in South Korea’s preemptive deterrence strategy
against North Korea’s missile threat. The comprehensive system, known as “Kill Chain,” is an
integrated information, surveillance, and strike system; “Kill Chain” is to operate in conjunction with the Korea
Air and Missile Defense (KAMD) systems.
At the test site on Wednesday, President
Park urged the personnel on the site to “strive to research and develop key
response military strength so that South Korea has a virtual deterrence
capability to prevent North Korea from even considering provocations. In order
to can have a virtual deterrence capability to prevent North Korea from even
provocations,” so that South Korea’s citizens may live and work without fear.
“President Park’s direct inspection of the
ballistic missiles’ launch was meant to relieve the citizens from the
fear of threats from North Korea, and to emphasize that she is doing everything
for national security,” Kim Tae Woo, a chair-professor at Dongguk University,
told Daily NK on the incident. “The Hyunmoo-B2 ballistic missile is meant for
retaliation, so it can be seen that Park is sending a message to North Korea
saying, ‘We can retaliate at any time.’”
He added that KAMD and “Kill Chain” are
first intended as preemptive attack measures and then, if necessary, defense
strategies, though many have pointed out that the system overall is still rife
with flaws. Kim asserted the need for a “comprehensive strategy that
encompasses preemptive attack, defense, and retaliation so that through
retaliations, we [South Korea] can psychologically deter North Korea from provoking South
Korea.”
