February 26, 2026:
South Korea has developed the 35-ton Hyunmoo-5 ballistic missile carrying a 7.8 ton warhead at ranges of 600 kilometers or more. Lighter warheads allow the missile to travel up to 5,000 kilometers. The 600 kilometers missile is sufficient for North Korean targets. At 5,000 kilometers the targets would be in China or Russia. The 7.8 ton warhead is 80 percent metal to enable deep penetration through earth or concrete.
South Korea was able to develop the Hyunmoo-5 despite an agreement with the United States to not develop missiles with ranges of more than 180 kilometers and warheads of more than half a ton. By mutual agreement, these restrictions were abolished in 2021. Such agreements are imposed by the United States as a condition of continued American support for the defense of South Korea from North Korean attack. Since South Korea is now an economic powerhouse and a major manufacturer and exporter of military equipment, such restrictions are superfluous. South Korea has been in the top ten of nations in terms of productivity and is headed for the top five. South Korean military forces are better armed and equipped than the northerners. The economies of the two countries are very different, with South Korea having a per-capita GDP more than fifty times that of the north.
South Korea is also considering developing nuclear weapons to match those already held by North Korea, The Americans have long pledged to supply nuclear weapons support to deter the north. American politics, or simply changes in American attitudes towards defending South Korea, prompted South Korea to consider developing their own nuclear weapons, which could certainly do within a few years. The US understands that South Korea is now a major military and economic power. This means the two nations are now allies with each possessing the same military capabilities in East Asia. The would allow the Americans to withdraw their troops from South Korea, where they have been stationed since the end of the Korean War 71 years ago. The U.S. will probably keep a token number of troops in South Korea until the two Koreas are reunited as a democratic nation with a market economy. Russia and China oppose this, but are not willing to start a war over such a unification. South Korea is a major trading partner with China and had similar relationships with Russia until the Ukraine War sanctions were imposed in 2022.
It wasn’t too long ago that South Korea depended on the United States for all sorts of modern weapons. For example, seventeen years ago the U.S. agreed to sell South Korea GBU-28 bunker buster bombs. This 5.8 meter long, 2.2 ton weapon was designed and built in 17 days during the 1991 Gulf War. It can penetrate more than six meters of reinforced concrete or 45 meters of earth, before detonating 306 kg of Tritonal explosive inside a bunker. The bomb is actually a BLU-113 fitted with a laser guidance kit, turning it into the GBU-28.
Saddam Hussein was known to have built two heavily protected underground shelters in 1982 and 1983. The German firms that designed and constructed these 9,000 square meter shelters described them as having 3.2 meters of reinforced concrete for a ceiling and walls with 2.2 meters of reinforced concrete. The main entrances were through three-ton steel doors. Each had two escape tunnels, one going 200 meters to the Tigris River. One bunker was under a Presidential Palace, which would have to be leveled before the GBU-28 could get a shot at the bunker several dozen feet underneath.
North Korea has long been installing military installations in large underground bunkers, often dug into the sides of mountains. North Korea has lots of mountains for this. North Korea has become so good at it that they sell their expertise to other countries. Iran is a current client.