On Wednesday, a South Korean government researcher proposed using drones, cyberattacks, and high-power microwave (HPM) weapons to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
Cho Nam-hoon of the state-run Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, speaking at a security forum, emphasised the importance of devising various contingency measures, including building “left-of-launch” capabilities to defeat a North Korean attack even before it is launched, according to Yonhap news agency.
His proposal came in response to a recent UN panel of experts report that Pyongyang has continued to develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, despite Seoul’s ongoing push for inter-Korean reconciliation and engagement.
Cho proposed using a “drone-based salvo” to attack the entrance of a nuclear weapons tunnel in the North and kinetic energy munitions to cause the tunnel to collapse as a contingency scenario for operations in the pre-launch phase.
The researcher proposed using cyberattacks to disrupt or disable a nuclear weapon’s flight in the boost phase and High Power Microwave (HPM) weapons to destroy its guidance system in the midcourse phase.
Cho estimated that the North’s nuclear warheads could double by 2040, based on the North’s plutonium and uranium-based nuclear weapons programmes. The North is believed to possess dozens of nuclear warheads, though estimates differ.
