Hyunmoo-5, ‘Swan of Death’ fly up into the sky on Armed Forces Day

The South Korean military plans to reveal the Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile on Tuesday at this year’s Armed Forces Day ceremony at Seoul Air Base, Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province and military parades from Gwanghwamun to Sungnyemun in downtown Seoul. Equipped with the world’s heaviest warhead, it is dubbed a monster missile.

The high-power, high-weight ballistic missile Hyunmoo-5 is a key element in the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation plan, which aims to annihilate Pyongyang leadership in case of a nuclear attack, part of the military’s “three-axis” deterrence system. Apart from the Hyunmoo-4 (with a payload of two tons) showcased at last year’s Armed Forces Day, the more potent system Hyunmoo-5 was only shown in a short video clip where it is test-fired.

The maximum warhead weight of the Hyunmoo-5 reaches eight tons, almost twice heavier than the improved KN-23 with a 4.5-ton conventional warhead recently released by the North Korean regime. This makes it powerful enough to destroy a bunker where North Korean leadership hides around 100 meters underground.

Without nuclear weapons in Seoul’s hands, the South Korean military embarked on a Hyunmoo-5 development project with the aim of devastating North Korean leadership in case of a war right after the regime had the fourth nuclear test in 2016. It started being deployed in large numbers following a successful test launch last year. “Once the regime uses nuclear weapons against South Korea, the Hyunmoo-5 eliminates Pyongyang leadership in the blink of an eye,” said the military.

Not only the Hyunmoo-5 but also a large number of other key elements to the three-axis system are expected to be shown on a military parade on Tuesday. The military said that it will deliver a strong warning message to the regime which has recently sent trash balloons in a row along with other provocations, making sure that it does not carry out the seventh nuclear test in the run-up to the U.S. presidential election.

Referred to as the “Swan of Death,” the U.S. Air Force strategic bomber B-1B is reported to be ready for the upcoming event for the first time. Off from Guam on Tuesday morning, it is expected to fly over Seoul Air Base along with South Korean fighter jets.


Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com