The Ministry of Nationwide Protection unveils the brand new Hyunmoo-5 missile displayed throughout an Armed Forces Day media day occasion, Sept. 29, 2025. Yonhap
South Korea has begun deploying its strongest typical ballistic missile, the Hyunmoo-5 — dubbed the “monster missile” for its large warhead — to frontline models, navy officers mentioned Sunday, a transfer that underscores Seoul’s effort to strengthen deterrence towards North Korea.
The bottom-to-ground missile, able to carrying a warhead of as much as eight tons, started coming into frontline models late final yr and is predicted to finish full operational deployment earlier than the present administration leaves workplace in 2030, in accordance with navy officers. It’s thought of South Korea’s strongest weapon to this point.
The Hyunmoo-5 is designed to focus on deeply buried underground services, together with command bunkers believed for use by North Korea’s management and strategic forces. It was publicly unveiled throughout South Korea’s Armed Forces Day occasions in 2024 and 2025, drawing consideration for its dimension and damaging potential amid heightened regional safety tensions.
Regardless of the missile’s energy, analysts warning towards overstating its means to neutralize North Korea’s most hardened underground websites.
Lee Il-woo, director of the Korea Protection Community, mentioned the Hyunmoo-5 represents essentially the most strategically important missile ever deployed in South Korea’s Hyunmoo collection, however faces bodily limitations.
“The Hyunmoo-5 carries a particularly high-yield typical warhead, and by lowering payload it may theoretically prolong its vary to round 3,000 kilometers, with some even evaluating it to an intercontinental-class missile,” Lee mentioned. “By way of sheer energy and strategic signaling, it’s the strongest missile South Korea has fielded.”
From North Korea’s perspective, Lee mentioned the missile poses a severe risk, notably as a result of Pyongyang’s missile interception capabilities stay restricted. “The chance of North Korea efficiently intercepting the Hyunmoo-5 seems very low,” he mentioned, citing the blended real-world efficiency of Russian-made S-300 and S-400 air protection methods, that are much like these operated by North Korea.
Nonetheless, Lee mentioned the missile’s effectiveness towards North Korea’s deeply buried services needs to be considered extra cautiously. Lots of Pyongyang’s key underground installations are positioned greater than 100 meters under floor, typically beneath granite bedrock frequent on the Korean Peninsula.
“Even essentially the most superior typical bunker-buster weapons battle in granite terrain,” Lee mentioned. He pointed to U.S. use of the GBU-57 large ordnance penetrator, which is estimated to penetrate round 60 meters in softer rock equivalent to sandstone, but has nonetheless did not fully neutralize underground services in Iran. “North Korea’s services are deeper — typically 100 to 150 meters — and constructed underneath a lot more durable geological situations.”
“Because of this, it’s unrealistic to say that typical weapons alone, together with the Hyunmoo-5, can totally destroy these services. With out nuclear weapons, full penetration shouldn’t be possible,” Lee added.
South Korea’s navy has promoted the Hyunmoo-5 as a central factor of the Korea Huge Punishment and Retaliation, or KMPR, doctrine — one in all three pillars of the nation’s deterrence technique towards North Korea, alongside the Kill Chain preemptive strike idea and the Korea Air and Missile Protection system.
Protection officers have mentioned the missile is meant not just for bodily destruction but in addition for deterrence, by demonstrating South Korea’s means to inflict extreme injury on strategic targets if attacked.
South Korea can be creating next-generation high-powered missile methods, informally often called the Hyunmoo-6 and Hyunmoo-7, that are believed to have longer ranges or improved penetration capabilities.
