Tactical surface-to-surface missiles deployed to frontline

Tactical surface-to-surface missiles deployed to frontline. June. 17, 2011 07:24. ysh1005@donga.com.

The South Korean military is known to have deployed tactical surface-to-surface missiles dubbed the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to the frontline in the wake of North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island late last year.

The move is to show the North that the South is capable of shelling the center of the Stalinist country in response to a sudden attack on Seoul by Pyongyang with its long-range missiles, according to experts.

According to South Korean military sources Thursday, ATACMS were deployed to frontline areas and the capital area to guard against North Korean long-range missile attacks.

The tactical surface-to-surface missiles deployed to frontline areas near the Demilitarized Zone have a range of 165 kilometers, which can be reached to Pyongyang.

The missiles have high mobility and are easily hidden as they are launched from multiple rocket launchers. With one missile containing more than 900 sub-munitions, it can obliterate an area equivalent to four soccer fields.

The main targets of the missiles are ground facilities including enemy control communication centers and tanks and artillery.

In 1998 and 2004, South Korea purchased a combined 220 tactical surface-to-surface missiles from the U.S. to prepare for contingencies.

Ordinary ATACMSs have a range of 165 kilometers but advanced ones have a range of 300 kilometers.

The range of 300 North Korean long-range rockets deployed to areas near the Demilitarized Zone is 43-60 kilometers. So if launched, they can directly attack Seoul and its vicinity.

In contrary, South Korea’s K-9 self-propelled guns and multiple launch rockets are unable to attack Pyongyang, which is more than 150 kilometers from frontline areas, as they have a maximum range of 36-65 kilometers.

This is why the South forward deployed ATACMSs. The South Korean military expects that the missiles will deter North Korea, which threatened in April a sweeping military retaliation against the South’s distribution of propaganda leaflets to the North and use of shooting targets containing the picture of North Korea’s heir Kim Jong Un.