A South Korean transporter erector launcher carrying a Hyunmoo-5 missile is paraded in Seoul for Armed Forces Day, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea, during its Armed Forces Day parade on Tuesday, unveiled a weapon it says is capable of taking out North Korea’s leadership. Meanwhile, a U.S. B-1B Lancer made a rare flight over the capital.
Roughly 5,000 South Korean troops — many armed and equipped for various environments — marched in downtown Seoul, which closed its streets to accommodate tens of thousands on hand to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the military’s founding.
South Korea used the event to unveil its latest intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Hyunmoo-5. Seoul has described the missile as a retaliatory weapon to strike at leaders in Pyongyang in the event of war.
The missile appears capable of carrying a warhead of over 8 tons, Yang Uk, a research fellow at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul, told Stars and Stripes by phone Tuesday.
The missile’s transporter erector launcher can move all 18 of its wheels at a roughly 45-degree angle and drive diagonally for greater mobility, Yang said.
About 250 U.S. soldiers also marched in the parade. Two Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcons and four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs were scheduled to fly over Seoul but were canceled due to inclement weather in the afternoon, 7th Air Force spokeswoman Rachel Buitrago said by phone Tuesday.
U.S. soldiers march through downtown Seoul during South Korea’s Armed Forces Day parade, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
An Air Force B-1B Lancer flies over South Korea's capital on Armed Forces Day, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (Luis Garcia/Stars and Stripes)
The Lancer, capable of carrying the largest payload of any Air Force bomber, passed over the parade route for the first time.
A pair of Lancers from Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, last flew over the capital in October 2017 during the Seoul International Aerospace & Defense Exhibition.
North and South Korean leaders traded barbs as troops and heavy equipment paraded on Tuesday.
North Korean vice defense minister Kim Kang Il described the display as a “bluffing military demonstration” and that Pyongyang is prepared to make “fresh action plans … and carry them out,” according to a statement in the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Kim said his country is “keenly watching the frequent deployment of U.S. strategic assets and their traces on the Korean Peninsula,” according to KCNA.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in a speech prior to the parade’s start thanked the U.S. and South Korean militaries for “protecting our country and its people with thoroughness and precision.”
“When the North Korean communists started the Korean War … our military fought bravely and shed blood to protect the free [South Korea],” he said. “Even now, they stand firm against the constant threats and provocations from North Korea, carrying out the important mission of safeguarding the nation and its people.”
Yoon also warned that if North Korea “attempts to use nuclear weapons, it will face the resolute and overwhelming response of our military and the [U.S.-South Korea] alliance.
“That day will be the end of the North Korean regime,” he said.
