Seoul: North Korea has developed new
multiple rocket-launchers with an effective range of 170 kilometres, based on Chinese and Russian technology, a report said Wednesday.
The new weapons are capable of firing three-metre rockets
guided by a Russian GPS device, Seoul's JoongAng Ilbo
newspaper reported.
It quoted an unidentified high-ranking official as
saying the North has also introduced Chinese technology to
upgrade its mainstream multiple rocket-launchers with a
maximum range of 90 kilometres.
The South's defence ministry declined to confirm the
report. The newspaper said the new 170-kilometre
rocket-launchers could hit new US military bases under
construction in Pyeongtaek, some 65 kilometres south of Seoul.
The US bases 28,500 troops in the South and is
planning to move its military headquarters from Seoul to
Pyeongtaek.
The South regards the North's multiple-rocket
launchers deployed along the border as a serious security
threat because they could mount a concentrated attack on
Seoul, only 40 kilometres from the border.
Residents in Seoul and neighbouring satellite cities,
together home to nearly half the South's 49 million people,
have always lived under threat of attack from the North's
rockets and long-range artillery.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 15:44