Seoul fires SLBM from underwater for first time

7th July 2021 - 07:59 GMT | by Gordon Arthur in Christchurch

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South Korea’s KSS-III will have the ability to fire submarine-launched ballistic missiles. (Gordon Arthur)

South Korea will soon be one of a select few nations able to field submarine-launched ballistic missiles.

South Korea has conducted the first underwater ejection test of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). The underwater test followed ejection tests on land at the Agency for Defense Development’s Anheung test site last year.

The SLBM, believed to be based on the 500km-range Hyunmoo-2B ballistic missile, was fired from a launch tube on a submerged barge, according to a report from the Yonhap News Agency that quoted unnamed sources.

This missile capability is significant for South Korea, and indeed it would make it the only non-nuclear state in the world to have the ability to launch an SLBM ...