South Korea on Tuesday displayed its powerful "monster, bunker buster" missile for the first time as it warned North Korea that the use of nuclear weapons would lead to the end of its regime.
During a ceremony marking the 76th Armed Forces Day of South Korea at an air base in Seongnam, the country's military showcased the Hyunmoo-5, a new ballistic missile that is capable of carrying an 8 ton conventional warhead and destroying underground bunkers.
The 65-foot-long missile is dubbed a "monster" for its size, local media reported. A South Korean military official claimed that the missile could carry out "ultra-precision, ultra-high-power" strikes within a range covering the entire Korean Peninsula.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said during the ceremony that his country and the United States, which have a military alliance, would respond resolutely and overwhelmingly to North Korea's use of nuclear weapons.
"That day will be the end of the North Korean regime," he said.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has estimated that North Korea, which is ruled by Kim Jong Un, has about 50 nuclear warheads. The country's state media claimed on Sunday that Pyongyang "will never give up" its nuclear weapons for national security.
South Korea, which is not a nuclear-armed country, is protected by the U.S. with extended deterrence. This is a commitment to use the full range of military capabilities, including nuclear ones, to deter and respond to nuclear and non-nuclear scenarios in defense of Seoul.
The Strategic Command of South Korea was established on the same day to counter the North's nuclear threats. It will serve as the counterpart to the U.S. Strategic Command, an American military command responsible for strategic deterrence and nuclear operations.
The South Korean president said the Strategic Command will protect the country and its people from North Korean threats by integrating the South Korean military's conventional capabilities with the U.S. extended deterrence.
Meanwhile, a U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber flew over the air base with two South Korean F-15K fighter jets during the ceremony, demonstrating the U.S. commitment to its ally's defense. The bomber, which is not nuclear-capable, can drop 75,000 pounds of munitions.
The Pentagon has been sending strategic assets like bombers and aircraft carriers to South Korea as part of the extended deterrence. Kim Kang Il, the vice defense minister of North Korea, warned on Tuesday that measures will be taken against the B-1B's deployment.
"Fresh methods of adding serious concern to the security of the U.S. mainland should be surely produced," the North Korean official said in a statement, without elaborating. The North's warning came hours before the B-1B's flyover of the South Korean air base.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the U.S. Air Force did not respond to the criticism from North Korea. It said the bomber also trained with the Japanese air force on Tuesday over the Sea of Japan, which aimed to enhance that alliance's deterrence capabilities.
The U.S. Air Force revealed that three B-1B bombers departed from Dyess Air Force Base in Texas on Monday for a CONUS-to-CONUS mission to support the Armed Forces Day of South Korea, which deterred aggression in the Indo-Pacific region.
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