The South Korean military is expected to deploy an advanced multiple launch rocket system to some of the Army’s frontline units from the latter half of the year, amid North Korea’s continued artillery threats, a military source said Tuesday.

The new domestically made MLRS, called “Chunmoo,” will bolster South Korea’s artillery counterstrike capabilities as it has a range of up to 80 kilometers ― double the range of the currently deployed “Guryong” rocket system, the source said, declining to be identified.

“When the new MLRS is delivered for operational deployment, it will greatly enhance our counterfire readiness posture, given that the new MLRS has a longer range and its performance will be better than the existing ones,” said the source.

The Chunmoo is expected to be deployed to South Korea’s northwestern border islands sometime next year, to cope with North Korea’s persistent artillery threats. On the islands, South Korea has the K-9 self-propelled howitzers, but they only have a range of around 40 km.

The North currently has 170 mm-caliber self-propelled howitzers and 240 mm-caliber multiple rocket launchers that have ranges of between 54 km and 65 km. The North has been developing a new 300 mm-caliber multiple launch rocket system that is thought to have a range of some 200 km.

The development of the Chunmoo came amid rising concerns over the North’s long-range artillery along the border. Pyongyang has recently shown off its rocket capabilities, while Seoul has largely focused on how to defend against the North’s ballistic missile threats.

The Chunmoo was developed to replace the Guryong, which has been deployed since the 1980s. It can fire both 130 mm-caliber rockets and 230 mm-caliber rockets. The state-run Agency for Defense Development developed the Chunmoo, which will be manufactured by Hanwha Corp.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)