{"id":23557,"date":"2019-08-01T17:54:42","date_gmt":"2019-08-01T17:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2019\/08\/01\/north-koreas-new-weapons-take-aim-at-souths-f-35-stealth-fighters\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:02:58","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:02:58","slug":"north-koreas-new-weapons-take-aim-at-souths-f-35-stealth-fighters","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/digital-show-dailies\/smd\/2019\/08\/01\/north-koreas-new-weapons-take-aim-at-souths-f-35-stealth-fighters\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea\u2019s new weapons take aim at the South\u2019s F-35 stealth fighters"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEOUL \u2014 North Korea\u2019s latest test-firing<\/a> of new short-range ballistic missiles and guided rockets are capable of inflicting damage to key South Korean and U.S. military installations, including an air base that will house stealth fighter jets in the South, military sources and analysts said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On July 31, the North launched two rockets off its east coast. The test came less than a week after the country test-fired two short-range ballistic missiles identified as KN-23 missiles, modeled on Russia\u2019s SS-26\/Iskander, amid the continued stalemate in negotiations over the North\u2019s denuclearization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ballistic missiles, launched July 25 off the eastern waters of the peninsula, flew about 600 kilometers at an altitude of 50 kilometers, according to South Korea\u2019s Joint Chiefs of Staff. The July 31 rockets flew some 250 kilometers at an altitude of 30 kilometers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

North Korea\u2019s state media said the rockets were a new variant that could expand the country\u2019s ability to strike major facilities across the South, including American military bases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the North\u2019s official Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the guided rockets launch. \u201cIt would be an inescapable distress to the forces becoming a fat target of the weapon,\u201d Kim was quoted by the KCNA as saying. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Joint Chiefs of Staff, which had originally identified the weapon as the KN-23, confirmed the trajectory of the rockets proved the so-called pull-up maneuver in the dive phase. \u201cIn the reentry phase, the projectile pulled up to fly horizontally and then dived to a target with a near 90-degree falling angle, an apparent move to help avoid interception,\u201d a Joint Chiefs of Staff source told Defense News on condition of anonymity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The KN-23 was twice tested in May, with one of the missiles flying about 420 kilometers. Compared to liquid-fueled Scud missiles fired at launch sites, the new missile uses solid fuel, which makes it easier to transport and quicker to launch. The new missile is launched on mobile trucks and could carry a nuclear warhead with up to 500 kilograms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How is the F-35 related?<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some weapons analysts believe the new missiles and rockets were developed for targeting a base for F-35As being delivered to the South Korean Air Force. The North has called the fifth-generation jets \u201cextremely dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe blurred photos revealed by the North show the multiple-launch rocket system is a larger caliber than the existing 300mm MLRS, and it resembles the Chinese-made 400mm, guided WS-2 MLRS,\u201d said Kim Dong-yub, an analyst with the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, Seoul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the new rocket has a feature of passive homing guidance like the WS-2, the range, accuracy and power of the rocket would be improved to a greater extent,\u201d he added. \u201cFurthermore, the guided rocket could evade radars at key air bases, including the F-35 base in the mid-part of the South.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korea bought 40 Lockheed Martin F-35As under a 2014 deal. Four have been delivered to the Air Force, and the remainder is set to arrive by 2021. The Ministry of National Defense plans to purchase 20 more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
In this photo provided by South Korea Defense Acquisition Program Administration, U.S and South Korean soldiers pose with two U.S. F-35A fighter jets at Chungju Air Base on March 29, 2019 in Chungju, South Korea. Two F35-A fighter jets have been received by South Korea after the United States approved a plan to export Lockheed Martin’s latest F-35 jets to South Korea. South Korea had agreed to buy 40 F-35A stealth jets. (Photo by South Korea Defense Acquisition Program Administration via Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The radar-evading stealth fighters are located at an Air Force base in Cheongju, about 130 kilometers south of the capital Seoul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Before the KN-23 missile tests, North Korea already slammed Seoul\u2019s deployment of F-35As, warning it would respond by developing and testing unspecified special weapons of its own to destroy the American-made aircraft. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeoul\u2019s purchase of the U.S. jets was meant to please the United States, their master,\u201d an unidentified research director affiliated with the North\u2019s Foreign Ministry said on KCNA. \u201cNorth Korea has no other choice but to develop and test the special armaments to completely destroy the lethal weapons reinforced in South Korea.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An arms race<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shin Jong-woo, a senior analyst at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, said that \u201cif ballistic missiles or guided rockets fly at a low altitude, the rate of interception would decrease, so that the South Korean military is required to bolster its air and missile defense shield.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indeed, the country is on track to set up the low-tier Korea Air and Missile Defense system. The shield includes Patriot Advanced Capability-2 and -3 interceptors, ship-based SM-2 missiles, and locally developed medium-range surface-to-air missiles.<\/p>\n\n\n\t