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China’s military
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Could South Korea’s newest ballistic missile trigger a regional arms race?

  • Seoul claims its Hyunmoo-5 missile can carry the world’s heaviest warhead
  • Yoon government is moving beyond North Korean focus toward a regional power posture, expert says

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Experts warn that South Korea’s latest ballistic missile could trigger a regional arms race, since its extended range gives it the capability to hit Japan and China, as well as North Korea. Photo: KBS
Kawala Xie
A new South Korean ballistic missile that is capable of hitting not just North Korea, but also Japan and China could trigger a regional arms race, an expert said.

During its Armed Forces Day on Saturday, Seoul released video of the domestically developed intermediate-range Hyunmoo-5 missile, which it claimed could carry the world’s heaviest warhead.

Malcolm Davis, a senior analyst in defence strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said the Hyunmoo-5 could carry a conventional warhead weighing up to nine tonnes, but could fly 3,000km (1,865 miles) if armed with a lighter warhead, that theoretically would be capable of hitting China and Japan.

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“Obviously, China will respond negatively, as might Japan, given that the missile could theoretically hit targets in Japan as well. But China has a massive and much more sophisticated conventional ballistic missile force that is far superior to what South Korea has,” he said.
“The Yoon government is clearly moving away from a focus purely on North Korea, and is seeking to adopt a regional power posture, with this missile part of that process.”
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Ryu Yongwook, a specialist in East Asian studies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at National University of Singapore, said it was still not clear if the Hyunmoo-5 could fly 3,000km with a heavy warhead, noting the missile had been designed for short and medium ranges of 300-800km.

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