South Korea doubles number of K-9 howitzers on Yeonpyeong Island

 A concrete structure in the K-9 Marine artillery base on Yeonpyeong Island bears marks from North Korea's attack 

on Tuesday.

South Korea's military has doubled the number of its K-9 (Thunder) 155-mm self-propelled howitzers on this border island shaken by North Korea's deadly artillery attack last week, sources said Monday.

North Korea's artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island has raised concerns that the South does not have the firepower needed to effectively defend its five islands off the west coast against the North's attacks. 

Military officers are criticizing top brass of failing to bolster defensive capabilities in the West Sea even though the area has become a powder keg with repeated North Korean provocations around the Northern Limit Line.
Defense Minister Kim Tae-young told the National Assembly's Defense Committee on Wednesday troops and armaments on Yeonpyeong and Baeknyeong islands "were deployed to respond to the threat of an amphibious landing by North Korean forces. Now an artillery battle has become the new threat, so we're reassessing the need to strengthen defenses."
The minister practically admitted that the military failed to respond to a new type of North Korean threat in the West Sea. Kim pledged to boost the number of K-9 self-propelled howitzers on the island from six to 12 and replace existing 105 mm towed howitzers with 155 mm self-propelled howitzers, which have a longer range and are capable of counterattacks against North Korean artillery positions.

"When it comes to defending the West Sea, it's true that the focus of our defensive posture was on thwarting a North Korean naval clash or preventing infiltration," a military source said. "I don't think we fully anticipated an artillery attack."

North Korea has threatened to respond "mercilessly" to South Korean-U.S. military exercise that began Sunday.

In time with the start of the joint exercise, the North Korean military fired about 30 artillery shells from the Kaemori region north of Yeonpyeong Island into the West Sea as part of a military drill of its own. It also moved some of its 122 mm multiple rocket launchers and opened more camouflaged artillery gates to coastal positions.

The North moved SA-2 surface-to-air missiles with a range of about 30 km to the coast and placed surface-to-ship missiles with ranges between 83 and 100 km on launch pads on the western coast. Mig-23 fighters are on standby at Hwangju Air Base.

The North Korea Eighth Navy Combat Fleet in the West Sea and South Hwanghae Province are in a virtual state of war. 

South Korea Lawmakers grilled the minister over the relatively weak fighting power of troops in an area as strategically important as the West Sea. 

North Korea's Fourth Army Corps, which is entrusted with guarding the West Sea, is headed by General Kim Kyok-sik, who commands tens of thousands of troops. 

In contrast, South Korea has only around 5,000 marines on Baeknyeong and Yeonpyeong islands. It is unclear whether South Korean troops could successfully defend the five West Sea islands if North Korea were to stage a massive attack.
In fact the military has been implementing reforms that weaken defense capabilities in the five West Sea islands. Since the Roh Moo-hyun administration, efforts were made to cut the Marine presence in the West Sea and 3,200 marines stationed in the area were to be moved elsewhere while the 6th brigade was to be shrunk down to a regiment.

"To my knowledge, discussions are under way to scrap the Marine troop cut plan. Now that the situation has become more tense, troop levels in the West Sea would need to be increased," said a Marine officer.

The North has deployed around 1,000 artillery pieces capable of firing 130 mm and 170 mm shells on major islands and coastal positions on the West Sea. 

In contrast, the only South Korean weapons in the West Sea capable of directly hitting North Korea are K-9 self-propelled howitzers with a range of 40 km, and 155 mm towed howitzers with a range of less than 20 km. There was only six K-9 self-propelled howitzers each on Yeonpyeong and Baeknyeong islands, and 10 155 mm towed howitzers are stationed only on Baeknyeong Island.
 


The K9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer was developed as a replacement for the M109A2K, also known as the K55, self-propelled howitzers. 

In the late 1980s Republic of Korea Army drew up it's requirements for a new indigenous 155-mm tracked howitzer to meet the requirements of 21st century. Key operational requirements included a higher rate of fire, longer range, better accuracy and faster into and out of action times. 

Development of the K9 Thunder began in 1989. First prototypes were completed in 1994 and it entered service in 1999. Some sources claim that over 300 of these howitzers are already in service with the Republic of Korea Army and 200 more are ordered.

   The main armament of the K9 Thunder consists of 155-mm / L52 howitzer, fitted with automatic shell handling and ramming system. It is compatible with standard NATO 155-mm ammunition. Maximum range of fire is 30 km with standard HE projectile and 40 km with rocket-assisted projectile.

   The K9 Thunder has a maximum rate of fire of 6 rounds per minute and is capable of multiple-round simultaneous-impact firing. It is able to fire three rounds in 15 seconds, each in different trajectories, so that all of the shells arrive on target at the same time. Sustained rate of fire is 2 rounds per minute.

   The K9 Thunder is fitted with automatic fire control system with internal navigation system and automatic gun laying systems. It takes 30 seconds to prepare to fire at emplacement and 60 seconds from movement. Vehicle can shortly leave position to avoid counter-battery fire.

   The K9 has all-welded steel hull and turret with a maximum thickness of 19 mm. It provides protection from small arms and artillery shell fragments. Vehicle is also fitted with NBC protection system.

   This self-propelled howitzer has a crew of five, consisting of commander, gunner, assistant gunner, loader and driver.

   Vehicle is powered by German MTU MT 881 Ka-500 diesel engine, developing 1 000 horsepower. Transmission of the K9 Thunder is a further development of that installed on the M1 Abrams main battle tank. The K9 is fitted with a hydropneumatic suspension.

   The K9 Thunder is resupplied form the K10 ammunition resupply vehicle. It is based on the K9 chassis. The reloading process is fully automated and can be performed without exposing the crew under enemy fire or in the contaminated areas.

Variants:

   K10 ammunition resupply vehicle

   T-155 Firtina, Turkish self-propelled howitzer with subsystems of the K9 Thunder

U.S. and South Korea live-fire drills in Yellow Sea

 

Background:

Its Tuesday: North Korean Artillery Attack a South Korean Island







 Large-scale joint naval drills between South Korea and the United States off the Korean Peninsula's west coast went into their second day Monday, stepping up their warning against any further provocations by North Korea which has bristled over the maneuvers.

Led by the USS George Washington, the allies started the four-day drills Sunday in the wake of the North's deadly artillery attack on an inhabited South Korean island that killed four South Koreans, including two marines.

North Korea alleges that South Korea incited the attacks when shells from a South Korean drill landed in North Korean waters during their annual Hoguk military drill. North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency has verbally condemned South Korea and the United States for rousing this predicament. 

China may be criticizing North Korea privately for its November 23rd artillery attack on a South Korean town (Yeonpyeong Island), but it is publically chastising South Korea and the U.S. for conducting naval training exercises off the west coast of Korea, in international waters.

This sort of thing has been a favorite communist diplomatic ploy for over half a century.

It goes like this, the communists concentrate on building up their military forces, but keep details secret and insist they are all for peace. But at the same time, democracies, which have a free media, are criticized for the size and disposition of their armed forces, and for holding training exercises (which the communist nations cannot afford as many of).

If the democracies make the same accusations, the communist states deny everything and insist that it's none of your business. As absurd as this sounds, it's what's been going on for decades. This drill has become part of the media landscape and isn't really noticed. But occasionally it gets violent.

In the 1950s and 60s, Russia and North Korea would attack American intelligence ships and aircraft outside their air space or coastal waters (as recognized by international law) for "spying." As recently as 2001, a U.S. Navy recon aircraft was hit, and damaged, over international waters, by a Chinese fighter. China has more recently ordered state owned fishing vessels to deliberately get in the way of American and Japanese warships who were getting too close to China, despite being in international waters. It's the old "what's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable" ploy taken to a deadly extreme.

What the North Koreans are saying to South Korea is "give us more food and oil or we will keep attacking you in the name of self-defense". North Korea is starving again, and the leadership (representing about ten percent of the population that are well fed) need help and don't want to risk their control of North Korea to get it. Meanwhile, South Korea and Japan are fed up with over a decade of North Korean extortion and are no longer willing to provide free food to North Korea unless the nuclear weapons program is shut down. North Korea refuses to consider this, and has come up with a new tactic; fatal warning shots. Over half of South Korea's population (and more than a third of its GDP) is within range of thousands of North Korean 170mm guns (range of 50 kilometers) and 240 mm multiple rocket launchers (range of 45 kilometers).

Actually, North Korea has hundreds of ballistic missiles capable of hitting anywhere in South Korea. What if North Korea demands that free food and oil shipments resume, or more South Korea towns (or neighborhoods in cities) will be hit? What's South Korea going to do, when North Korea threatens to launch a major offensive if the south fights back and tries to destroy North Korea guns, rockets and ballistic missiles?

Because North Korea has the ability to do major damage to the southern capital (where half the population and a quarter of the GDP are), the South Koreans have more to lose than the northerners. Sprawling Seoul is 40-50 kilometers from the North Korea border. The city alone is 600 square kilometers, and the suburbs even larger. There are over 17,000 people per square kilometer (45,000 per square mile) in the city. The southerners know the north has nothing to lose, are desperate and heavily armed. What do you do?

Last March, a North Korean submarine torpedoed and sank a South Korean corvette (killing 46 sailors), in South Korean waters. North Korea denied that it was responsible (although the attacks was played in the north as very much a North Korean military operation). The north noted that the south did not retaliate.

Many South Koreans are now demanding a military response, but the majority of southerners will do almost anything to avoid a major war. Over the last decade, southerners have become less tolerant of northern extortion tactics, and have cut off most aid. So the north has done what any criminal gang would do, it has sent a message. The question is, do you call in the cops, or give in?

In this case, it's uncertain if the "cops" (U.S. and South Korea armed forces) can do anything that will work. Military commanders point out that the North Korean military is not invincible, and is vulnerable. Nearly two decades of food shortages, and economic collapse up north have had an effect on the military. North Korean troops, who grew up during the first rounds of famine in the 1990s, are noticeably shorter than the previous generation. There's not enough money to train, or maintain the vast North Korea arsenal of vehicles, weapons and other equipment. There's lots of evidence of this, from satellite photos, electronic chatter, and the thousands of North Korean refugees who have made it to South Korea in the last few years (and many more who made it to China, and can be reached by journalists, and intelligence agencies.)

But the North Korean leadership knows this as well. Without massive aid, the northern military will continue to rot, and the North Korean people will become more unruly. Already, anti-government graffiti is showing up in the north. This was unheard of until recently. The security agencies up there are becoming corrupt, as a result of the shortages, and the creation of a limited market economy to try and prevent more widespread starvation and privation. Many in the north, especially in the ruling Kim family, would rather go out with a bang, rather than a whimper (or a firing squad). The U.S. says it will not reward bad behavior, but South Korea and Japan, being within range of North Korean weapons, are not so sure of that approach.

The South Korean military has a third fewer troops in uniform than the north, but they are better armed and trained. However, North Korea has not been at war since 1953, and South Korea since the late 1960s (when they had troops in Vietnam). Armed forces tend to get stiff and inefficient in peacetime. But both nations have most of their troops lined up along the mountainous border (the DMZ, or demilitarized zone). There are plenty of fortifications, and plans for the south to keep the northerners out.

The basic drill has always been that the north would try to invade again (as it did in 1950), with the southerners and their American allies defending. Based on historical experience, the north could do a lot of damage, but not win. The north has chemical weapons, and it is feared they would use them. The north also, technically, has nuclear weapons. But based on two tests of their nukes, it is not believed they have a weapon that could be delivered. The north could make the big push, but the southerners and their American allies would eventually prevail. The invasion is a threat, not a solution.

Artillery firing was again heard on Yeonpyeong Island today, but this time, no shells or rockets fell on the island. North Korean artillery was practicing again, within its own territory. You'll be hearing a lot more North Korean artillery practice, because they have large stocks of aging munitions that must either be fired or disposed of because the stuff is too dangerous to use.

After a few decades, the chemical components of rockets and artillery shells decompose and become unreliable. But North Korea can't fire all this stuff, since each time you fire a shell it damages the barrel, which must be replaced, in some cases, after only a few hundred shells are fired. It's similar for rocket launchers, with heat of the rockets causing some damage to the launch tubes and the launcher (or launch vehicle) in general. The north cannot afford replacements. North Korea's poverty since 1991 has meant it could not afford to replace its older munitions like it used to in the past, and there's a lot more old stuff to worry about. Fuel shortages mean that the old munitions can't even be trucked to coast and dumped at sea, or buried on land (to provide a hazard for over a century). So a lot of these increasingly unstable ammo just rots in storage bunkers.

Chinese Boats Stalk George Washington

Japan has increased anti-submarine patrols in international waters, just outside Japanese territorial waters. Chinese submarines are apparently exercising there more frequently, looking for Japanese, South Korean and U.S. warships to play tag with. The U.S. has also redirected more of its space based naval search capabilities to assist the Japanese.

Chinese Song class diesel electric and Han class nuclear powered boats were detected and tracked recently. One of each of these was spotted stalking the American carrier USS George Washington, as it headed to South Korea for a visit.

China is rapidly acquiring advanced submarine building capabilities, and providing money (for fuel and spare parts) to send its subs to sea more often. Moreover, new classes of boats are constantly appearing. The new Type 39A, or Yuan class, looks just like the Russian Kilo class. In the late 1990s, the Chinese began ordering Russian Kilo class subs, then one of the latest diesel-electric design available. Russia was selling new Kilos for about $200 million each, which is about half the price other Western nations sell similar boats for. The Kilos weigh 2,300 tons (surface displacement), have six torpedo tubes and a crew of 57. They are quiet, and can travel about 700 kilometers under water at a quiet speed of about five kilometers an hour. Kilos carry 18 torpedoes or SS-N-27 anti-ship missiles (with a range of 300 kilometers and launched underwater from the torpedo tubes.) The combination of quietness and cruise missiles makes Kilo very dangerous to U.S. Carriers. North Korea and Iran have also bought Kilos.

The Chinese have already built two Yuans, the second one an improvement on the first. These two boats have been at sea to try out the technology that was pilfered from the Russians. A third Yuan is under construction, and it also appears to be a bit different from the first two. The first Yuan appeared to be a copy of the early model Kilo (the model 877), while the second Yuan (referred to as a Type 39B) appeared to copy the late Kilos (model 636). The third Yuan may end up being a further evolution, or Type 39C.

Preceding the Yuans was the the Type 39, or Song class. This was the first Chinese sub to have the teardrop shaped hull, and was based on the predecessor of the Kilo, the Romeo class. The Type 39A was thought to be just an improved Song, but on closer examination, especially by the Russians, it looked like a clone of the Kilos. The Yaun class also have AIP (Air Independent Propulsion), which allows non-nuclear boats to stay underwater for days at a time. China currently has 13 Song class, 12 Kilo class, one Yuan class and 32 Romeo class boats. There are only two Han class SSNs, as the Chinese are still having a lot of problems with nuclear power in subs. Despite that, the Hans are going to sea, even though they are noisy and easily detected by Western sensors.

Hoo-ah: Cockpit Video of F/A-18C Hornet ECDT over USN CVN-73

Ride along with Adrian "Catfish" Jope as he flies his high show...this time over the mighty US Navy aircraft carrier USS George Washington.