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Military deploys new homegrown bunker buster missile amid North Korean threats

Published: 18 Feb. 2025, 13:26

Photo of the newly deployed Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missile [YONHAP]

South Korea has deployed a new homegrown bunker buster missile, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Tuesday, in its efforts to deter North Korean military threats.

The military has deployed the Korean Tactical Surface to Surface Missile (KTSSM), capable of conducting simultaneous precision strikes in a short span of time against North Korea's long-range artillery that threatens the greater Seoul area, the JCS said in a release.

The JCS said the latest deployment equips the military with the "overwhelming" capacity to completely destroy the enemy in the event of a contingency.

The tactical ballistic missile, also named Ure, which means thunder in Korean, has been developed to strike North Korean long-range artillery pieces hidden in caves and tunnels. It is known to have a range of 180 kilometers.

Many of the North's long-range artillery pieces are stationed within striking distance of South Korea's wider capital area — home to nearly half the country's 51 million population.

"Our military will closely monitor North Korea's various military activities under the robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and maintain the overwhelming capacity and posture to counter any North Korean threat in an overwhelming manner," the JCS said.

Yonhap