
South Korea’s military has launched a naval task fleet command that operates Aegis destroyers equipped with a radar system capable of detecting missiles up to 1,800 kilometers away as well as ballistic missile interceptors, to better counter North Korean provocations at sea.
On Monday, the South Korean Navy held an inauguration ceremony for the Task Fleet Command at the Jeju Naval Base in Gangjeong on the southern coast of Jeju Island.
“The Task Fleet Command will serve as a central unit to deter and respond to North Korean provocations at sea and proactively prepare for emerging threats,” said Adm. Yang Yong-mo, chief of naval operations, during the ceremony.
Its fleet comprises 10 Aegis destroyers, including Jeongjo the Great (8,200-ton class), and four logistics support ships, including Soyang (10,000-ton class). Plans are in place to add two more Aegis destroyers of Jeongjo the Great class and six domestically built destroyers by the mid-2030s.
Jeongjo the Great detects North Korean missile launches with its active electronically scanned array radar system, which has a range of 1,800 kilometers and can intercept incoming missiles with its terminal-phase ballistic missile interceptors, called SM-6.
Based at the Jeju Naval Base, the fleet command is designed for flexible operations across all maritime regions, whereas the Navy’s 1st, 2nd and 3rd Fleets operate in their designated areas -- the East, West and South Seas, respectively. It will also conduct extended operations in broader seas beyond South Korea’s maritime boundaries.
According to the Navy, this flexibility is expected to enhance operational capabilities by enabling more strategic force deployment.
Vice Adm. Kim In-ho has been appointed commander of the Task Fleet Command.
“The fleet command will serve as a key strategic unit, safeguarding South Korea’s sovereignty and maritime interests wherever and whenever needed,” Kim said during the ceremony. “In the event of conflict, we will ensure overwhelming force to secure victory.”
Meanwhile, on the same day, civic groups, including the Gangjeong Village Union and Save Jeju Now, along with progressive political party members, protested in front of the Jeju Naval Base opposing the establishment of the fleet command.
The protesters argued that the establishment of the fleet command would turn Jeju Island into an armory for the Northeast Asian region, calling for its cancellation as well as the closure of the Jeju Naval Base.
"The Aegis destroyers under the Task Fleet Command, equipped with SM-3 missiles, could be deployed to defend Guam, Japan and even the US mainland," one protester told reporters.
"The establishment of the fleet command will escalate the scale and intensity of nuclear war drills among allied nations, further exacerbating the new Cold War dynamics between South Korea, the US and Japan on one side and North Korea, China and Russia on the other," the protester added.
