SEOUL: During military parades in Seoul on Tuesday, South Korea displayed a ballistic missile that can carry an eight-ton warhead and included a flyby of a US bomber. This annual show of force is intended to convey the country’s readiness to counteract any threats from North Korea.
During the Armed Forces Day ceremony at a Seoul air base, which featured over 5,300 troops, 340 different pieces of military equipment, and aircraft flypasts, the successfully tested Hyunmoo-5 missile was on show. Thousands of people saw a smaller-scale parade that was held in Seoul’s downtown.
In South Korea, such military parades had only sometimes taken place for decades. However, President Yoon Suk Yeol brought back the annual custom of holding them last year, according to his “peace through strength” motto.
According to military authorities, one of the goals of this week’s parade was to demonstrate South Korea’s military prowess to deter North Korea, which often puts on displays with weapons like intercontinental ballistic missiles.
A missile with a 5,000 km range that is intended to breach underground bunkers
A US B-1B strategic bomber made its first-ever flypast during the South Korean parade, along with an armoured Stryker brigade and the US Eighth Army band.
In a speech prior to the march, Yoon mocked Pyongyang’s alleged illegal military collaboration with Russia and cautioned against the use of nuclear weapons. In addition, he praised the establishment of the Strategic Command, which was entrusted with countering North Korea’s WMDs. “If North Korea attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will face a resolute, overwhelming response from our military and the US alliance,” Yoon added. “That day will see the end of the North Korean regime.”
“Monster missile”
The parade’s focal point was the Hyunmoo-5, dubbed a “monster missile” by South Korean media because of its ability to breach underground bunkers.
Presented as the “ultra high-power Hyunmoo ballistic missile,” they were mounted on two nine-axle transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicles by the military.
Although the Hyunmoo-5 is classified as short-range, Yu Yong-weon, a member of the parliamentary defense committee, claims that if it is fitted with a one-ton warhead, which is common for ballistic missiles, its range can surpass 5,000 km.
According to Yoon’s office, the missile is an essential component of the nation’s “three-axis” defense system, which is designed to counter the North’s nuclear provocations and includes war plans that, if needed, call for preemptive strikes.
The B-1B’s scheduled flypast was criticized by North Korea’s vice defense minister, Kim Kang Il, hours before the ceremony. He also charged Washington with pulling a “reckless military bluff” by sending a nuclear-powered submarine to South Korea.
Kim demanded retaliation in remarks broadcast by the state news agency KCNA, promising to keep enhancing the nation’s “powerful war deterrent.”
In Seoul, some opposition politicians and activists condemned Tuesday’s parade, saying it was reminiscent of past South Korean military governments and a waste of taxpayers’ money with an allocated budget of 7.9 billion won ($6 million) this year.
Spokesman for the defense ministry Jeon Ha-kyu stated during a briefing that the parade acted as a deterrent against North Korea while also boosting army morale and promoting defense exports.
