Seoul: A new South Korean ballistic missile with the potential to strike not only North Korea but also Japan and China could start a regional arms race, an expert warned.

Seoul on Saturday released a video of the domestically developed Hyunmu-5 intermediate-range missile, which it claimed can carry the heaviest warhead in the entire world.

The Hunmoo-5 can carry a conventional warhead weighing nine tons, but Malcolm Davies, a senior analyst for defense strategy and capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said it could fly up to 3,000 km (1,865 mi) if equipped with a lighter warhead. be equipped, which could theoretically affect China and Japan.

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Given that the missile could theoretically hit targets in Japan as well, it is clear that both China and Japan would react negatively. But compared to South Korea, China has a much larger and more advanced conventional ballistic missile force, he said.

The missile is part of the Yun government's effort to adopt a regional power posture, which is apparently moving away from focusing solely on North Korea.

According to Ryu Yongwook, an expert in East Asian studies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, it is still unknown whether Hyunmu-5 can fly 3,000 km with a heavy weapon. The missile was designed to have a short and medium range of 300-800 km.

Ryu said the warhead carried by the missile cannot weigh more than two tons to hit most targets in China.

South Korea's development of cruise and ballistic missiles is primarily focused on deterring North Korean aggression rather than China. Naturally, neighboring countries may view South Korea's military progress differently, which will lead to an arms race,” he said.

According to retired Chinese Colonel Yu Gang, the missile posed no threat to China.

It is a short range missile. If deployed in the Seoul region, its range is limited to Shenyang in northeastern China. Additionally, it has a fast tail flame and a high launch trajectory. It's easy to stop and detect," he declared.

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According to Sean King, senior vice president and Asia expert at New York-based business advisory firm Park Strategies, Japan will not be overly concerned about South Korea's new missile. However, Beijing could not be happier.

Japan will be aware that [South] Korea's missile and defense research and development is essentially in line with US policy and objectives for the peninsula. Therefore, none of these missiles will be directed to Japan, he said.

Beijing will not be pleased with anything that benefits a US ally in the region, even if China is not the target.

On Tuesday, for the first time in five years, North Korea fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile over Japan. After several tests last week when US Vice President Kamala Harris was in Japan and South Korea, Pyongyang's most recent provocation advised Japanese citizens to seek asylum.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yol has previously said that China or other nations are not the target of the nation's defense system, which is designed to counter North Korea's threats.

He promised to "dramatically strengthen" the country's reconnaissance and strike capabilities in a speech on Saturday to counter North Korea's nuclear arsenal through Seoul's "three-axis system".

The Kill Chain Pre-emptive Strike Platform, the Korea Air and Missile Defense System, and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation Program are three platforms the three-axis strategy will use to strike North Korea.

According to Davis, Hyunmu-5 served the purpose of enabling a punishment and retaliation plan to "deeply bury" North Korean targets.

It is estimated that North Korea has built more than 6,000 underground military facilities, including shelters and places to store weapons, since the Korean War in the 1950s. According to observers, if the Hyunmu-5 missiles were equipped with heavy armament, they could destroy most of those facilities.

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Seoul demonstrated its first cold-launch technology on Saturday with the Hyunmu-5 missile, which was ignited after launch, as was done on the launch pad like earlier iterations.

Cold launch enables a missile to carry a heavy warhead and launch from a submarine, according to Shin Jong-woo, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, cited in a Korea Times article.