Page 11 - ADT JANUARY 2021 Online Magazine

Looking for Cover [ MISSILE SYSTEMS ]

AS NORTH KOREA AND CHINA GROW THEIR is North Korea’s fourth, after the Taepodong,
STOCKPILE OF BALLISTIC MISSILES AND KN-20 and KN-22.
NUCLEAR WEAPONS, COUNTRIES IN THE The display of the SLBM gives North Korea’s
REGION FORTIFY THEIR BALLISTIC MISSILE neighbors plenty to worry about as such mis-
DEFENCE SYSTEMS siles are difficult to detect before launch. The
country had conducted a test of an underwa-
ter-launched missile in October 2018, signaling
Arun Sivasankaran its intentions to keep on building its stock of
weapons that are basically meant more to pre-
The recent parade of new ballistic missiles by North Korea and empt an attack than for acts of aggression.
the threat posed by China’s growing ballistic missile and nuclear North Korea is also currently working on a
arsenal have forced countries in the Asia Pacific to accelerate the new 3,000-ton submarine, capable of carry-
deployment of ballistic missile defences. ing SLBMs.
The threat is palpably real. Less than two weeks into 2021, North North Korea isn’t the only worry. China has
Korea unveiled a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), several types of operational land-based sys-
which state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said was tems that are nuclear-capable. It is not just the
the "world's most powerful weapon." Labelled Pukguksong-5, the neighboring countries that are worried. The
SLBM is said to be an upgrade from the Pukguksong-4 unveiled in Pentagon is keeping a close eye on the coun-
October last year. The latest parade comes days after Kim Jong try’s growing missiles arsenal.
Un had declared that North Korea was developing new weap- “The PLARF [People's Liberation Army Rocket
ons, including tactical nuclear weapons and advanced warheads Force] develops and fields a wide variety of
designed to penetrate missile defense systems. conventional mobile ground-launched ballistic
missiles and cruise missiles," said a Pentagon
In October last year, North Korea showed off Hwasong-15, the report in September last year. "The PRC
longest-range missile ever tested by the country, and a new inter- [People's Republic of China] is developing new
continental ballistic missile (ICBM) so large that it was paraded on intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that
a transporter vehicle with 11 axles. According to analysts, the ICBM, will significantly improve its nuclear-capable
if it becomes operational, could be armed with multiple warheads. missile forces."
It may be recalled that the KN-22 ICBM, which was test fired in According to the Pentagon, China has added
2017, had a transporter vehicle with nine axles. The new ICBM 10 new ICBMs since its 2019 report, as well

ASIAN DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY January 2021 | 11