The Devastating Power of N.Korea's MLRS Artillery

Chosun Ilbo ^ | 11/26/10

[TigerLikesRooster]

The Devastating Power of N.Korea's MLRS Artillery

The 122-mm Multiple Launch Rocket System shells North Korea fired on Yeongpyeong Island on Tuesday are fatal weapons that can kill people and devastate large areas with an extra-high penetration capability. They are among the weapons most feared by soldiers.

During World War II, the Soviet Union used a version called the Katyusha or "Stalin Organ" against the German forces, and in 1991, the U.S. military terrorized Iraqi soldiers by deploying a modern-day version of the MLRS. It is extremely rare for a country to use such weapons in peacetime and target unarmed civilians, which experts say deserves international condemnation. North Korean 122-mm MLRS shells collected from Yeonpyeong Island North Korean 122-mm MLRS shells collected from Yeonpyeong Island

The so-called fuel-air shells the North used are believed to be filled with special gunpowder that causes massive conflagrations and horrible burns to victims.

MLRS can fire 30 to 40 rounds at once, compared to conventional artillery which fire one round at a time, and the projectiles are launched in rapid succession. The 122-mm MLRS can carry around 27 kg of explosives, compared to 3.6 kg that other conventional artillery of the same size carry. The North reportedly has 240-mm and 107-mm MLRS as well.

The North Korean military has a MLRS brigade consisting of two 122-mm battalions and one 240-mm battalion at each corps, with each battalion having 18 MLRS vehicles.

The Fourth Army Corps, which is in charge of guarding the West Sea, has 36 122-mm MLRS vehicles that can launch 1,400 rounds at the same time. North Korean coastal artillery positions are not equipped with MLRS, so the Fourth Corps is believed to have supplied them for the latest attack.

The 240-mm MLRS is among the greatest North Korean threats facing the South Korean capital Seoul. They bundle 12 or 22 of those rounds into a single burst, with each round being capable of destroying an 80 sq. m area. There are 200 of these MLRS vehicles lined up near the demilitarized zone. In times of war, they could fire up to 6,400 shells on Seoul, capable of turning a 6 sq. km area into rubble.

South Korean military officials believe more than half of North Korea's MLRS carry chemical rounds that can cause even greater damage. The South Korean military also fields U.S.-made 227-mm and Korean-made 130-mm MLRS. But in terms of number, the South Korean military is outgunned by the North with around 200 MLRS as against the North's 5,100.

[TigerLikesRooster]

P!

[justa-hairyape]

If you ever get a strong sense that they will fire those, best to take out as many as possible before they do.

[PA Engineer]

Thermite.

[Bon mots]

Don't worry South Korea, Obama's got your back...

Oh crap...

[TheBattman]

are fatal weapons that can kill people

What great command of the "Engrish Wrangwridge".

Is that anything like the old Raid bug spray catch phrase: "Kills bugs Dead"?

[gogogodzilla]

It is extremely rare for a country to use such weapons in peacetime and target unarmed civilians, which experts say deserves international condemnation.

This is a perfect example of why I can't stand reading news in Korean... or in English, written by Koreans.

That they need to consult with 'experts' to realize that firing MLRS onto civilians is actually *BAD*? Really? Gosh, I'd have NEVER, EVER suspect that without my betters telling me so!

It really ticks me off to no end to see the South Korean press trot out 'experts' to tell people how to think.

[Brad from Tennessee]

In the last 10 years the North Koreans have shifted their war strategy from invasion to the scenarios in the article. A lot of the long-range guns are sited in horizontal shafts dug into ridges north of the DMZ. In the event of war the Air Force would attack this artillery. Somebody who gamed this situation for years told me it was possible to bury the mouths of these casements with bomb-induced landslides. He said the North Koreans have anticipated this have stationed earth moving equipment inside the shafts to clear the rubble. As a result a lot of the targets would be hit repeatedly. He said the theory is it will take 48 hours to neutralize most of these guns.

[wiggen]

Okay. They have this ability. I don’t think anyone has any idea just how much ordnance they actually have to sustain an attack. Not saying it wouldn’t be awful or messy but this is a country that has had nothing to trade for decades except some nuke knowledge to Iran and Syria. You can’t make bombs out of dirt.

[wiggen]

But they can’t fire while digging out so they would be out of commission.

[Mariner]

US doctrine for a war with NK has always been to use nukes.

It's the ONLY way to avoid 10mil SK casualties.

[Brad from Tennessee]

That's true. And some of the gun and rocket crews would be killed in the first airstrike. But with the chemical and other ordnance described in this article even a few salvos would do a lot of damage. The strategy would be to provoke an invasion by South Korean and U.S. forces, the rationale being NK has a better chance defending against an invasion than mounting one. They might hope this would rally the population and even draw China into the fracas like 1950.

[justa-hairyape]

Japan: possible North Korea has advanced nuclear arms

Japanese Defence Minister Toshimi Kitazawa said the possibility that North Korea's nuclear arms development is fairly advanced cannot be ruled out.

"North Korea's uranium enrichment activities are a highly worrisome development ... We cannot rule out the possibility that their nuclear arms programme is fairly advanced," Kitazawa told a news conference, Reuters reports.

[RayChuang88]

Here's the question: has the North Koreans reached the point of building an implosion-style nuclear bomb that uses plutonium as the fissile material? If they've reached that point the North Koreans could build warheads with a yield of 45-50 kT for their Nodong-2 missile that could threaten the major US military bases in Japan.

[nathanbedford]

We are the numbers, it is clear that the North Koreans can inflict catastrophic damage on the South Koreans with their first few salvos. I understand that the city of Seoul is been growing closer and closer to the DMZ, rendering it even more vulnerable. It is virtually impossible for the civilians to escape Seol and avoid massive casualties.

That, of course, begs the question why are our American servicemen within range? Why are they not moved back far enough to get away from the artillery which might contain chemical or biological even if they remain exposed to atomic attack? The American army is being used as a tripwire?

A tripwire against a desperate and deranged nuclear power? Hello?

Let's switch our thinking around entirely:

All the pundits tell us that the key to solving the Korean crisis is to encourage China to control their puppet and tell China that they should do so if for no other reason than they want to prevent a spillover of millions North Korean refugees into their country in the event of war. But suppose the pundits have it exactly backwards; suppose the Chinese are already pulling the strings and are using the North Koreans to push back the Japanese and intimidate them. Do not forget that the Chinese and the Japanese have been at each other's diplomatic throats over oil and other minerals in offshore islands.

Further, the Chinese can hope to so intimidate the Japanese that they pry them away from the Americans. When Obama begs the Chinese to do the right thing and control North Korea, they can exact a price.

In the Orient things are not always as they appear.

[justa-hairyape]

No one has the answer to that question. Looks like we may have to find out the hard way. Their tests have not been spectacular, from what I gather. You would think that if they had that capability, South Korea announcing that they wanted US Tactical Nukes, would not set the North Koreans off like it did. Course that does not guarantee that they are not currently in the act of pursuing those capabilities.

At any rate, those Chinese Carrier Killing ICBM's are the real danger. Their super sonic cruise missiles are also a threat.

[justa-hairyape]

China: Oppose Any Military Activity In Exclusive Economic Zone Without China's Permission

BEIJING -(Dow Jones)- China opposes any military activity in the country's exclusive economic zone without its permission, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Hong Lei said Friday.

Hong's comment was in reference to an announcement by the U.S. and South Korea that the USS George Washington, an aircraft carrier, would conduct exercises with the South Korean navy in the Yellow Sea west of the Korean peninsula. The move comes after the exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea earlier this week.

[wiggen]

I did say it would be messy. As to the invasion scenario i would suspect thats been thought of already. The best way would be U.S. troops assuming the border guard duty while the South Korean forces did the dirty work. Far less chance of China intervening in that case.
One more thought on the NK artillary. Its all well mapped. They would be squashed like bugs in the first minutes. Yes they would get off a few salvo’s but that would be it. Theres nothing that says they would be accurate or that all their ammo would work. They literally have nothing to spend so i’m not sure just how much they can actually invest in their armaments.

[Uncle Ike]

” China opposes any military activity in the country’s exclusive economic zone without its permission, “

IMO, those, including our own Government, who are placing their reliance on China to resolve this situation are clinging to a vanishingly thin reed....

China signalled its position quite clearly when its first considered action after the shelling attack was to cancel Ministerial-level meeting (Defense, IIRC) in Seoul - and this latest pronouncement pretty much reinforces that....

I’ve suspected for some time, now, that China, in its calculations (”Never assume that your adversary is making the same calculations that you are..”) sees more upside than downside, for its interests, to the situation-as-is, and possibly, even, some advantage to be gained from open hostilities....

[justa-hairyape]

Bookmarked this economic thread on FreeRepublic from last weekend. The article is very interesting. Give plausible explanation for China ending the game.

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