On March 24, 2006, South Korea unveiled a new ship-to-ship cruise missile, known as the Haesŏng, and a new man portable air defense system (MANPAD), known as the Sin’gung. [1] Defense Minister Yun Kwang-ung, Chairman of the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee Yu Chae-gŏn, Defense Acquisition Program Administration Director Kim Chŏng-il, and Chief of the General Staff Admiral Nam Hae-il attended the unveiling ceremony at the NEX1 Future guided-munitions plant in Kumi, North Kyŏngsang Province, where the two new systems were formally inducted into South Korea’s missile armory. [2]

The Agency for Defense Development (ADD) began developing the Haesŏng cruise missile for the Republic of Korea’s (ROK) Navy in 1996 to replace its U.S.-manufactured Harpoon missiles. The ADD and defense contractors finished indigenous development of the missile in 2003, and the Defense Agency for Technology and Quality Assurance granted approval for mass production of the Haesŏng following a successful flight-test on December 20, 2005. [3] The Haesŏng has a range of 150 km and will be deployed on ROK Navy destroyers, including Aegis destroyers that South Korea plans to start building in 2008. [1] [4]

At the March 24 event, South Korea also displayed its new portable Sin’gung MANPAD, which, according to press reports, can strike an aircraft at a range of 7 km with a reliability of 90 percent. The ADD has been developing the Sin’gung since 1995 at a cost of ₩70 billion (about $59.3 million). One Sing’ung costs about $153,000. [1]

South Korea’s missile development is part of Seoul’s self-reliant national defense policy, which is aimed at increasing the ROK’s independent military capabilities, while maintaining close alliance ties with the United States. South Korea joined the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in March 2001, and Seoul hosted the 19th MTCR Plenary in October 2004. [5] Both new South Korean systems have capabilities that are below the threshold of missiles controlled by the regime, which seeks to retard the spread of missiles able to carry a payload of 500 kilograms to a distance of 300 kilometers or more. North Korea has not yet responded to the South Korean announcement regarding the new weapons systems.

Daniel A. Pinkston – Monterey Institute Center for Nonproliferation Studies