South Korea announces warship named after torpedo attack ship will begin new mission
The South Korean warship, named after the warship that was torpedoed by North Korea in 2010 and killed 46 crew members, has begun its new mission with “invincible combat readiness,” the Seoul military announced on Saturday. did.
The sinking of the Cheonan remains a political issue in South Korea, with some questioning whether North Korea really sank the Cheonan.
An international investigation concluded that the ship was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine, but North Korea denies responsibility.
Seoul's hawkish President Yoon Seok-yeol, who took office last year, showed the public's support for the victims of the Cheonan incident by wearing T-shirts and hats featuring the Cheonan ship.
The Seoul Navy said in a statement that the new Cheonan, which has significantly enhanced anti-submarine capabilities, began “a full-scale mission to protect the West Sea” on Saturday.
“We will fully prepare for battle and maintain an invincible combat readiness,” Cheonan said in a statement.
“If the enemy provokes us in the West Sea, we will respond immediately and forcefully to the end,” he added.
The new Cheonan is equipped with long-range anti-submarine torpedoes and tactical anti-ship guided missiles, allowing it to “attack enemy submarines from long distances,” the Navy announced.
It added that the frigate also has the ability to “directly attack land-based facilities commanding enemy submarines.”
The announcement comes as North Korea increases its nuclear and military threats, with Kim Jong Un, the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea, saying that North Korea would not hesitate to launch a nuclear attack if it was “provoked” with a nuclear weapon.
North Korea on Monday test-fired its largest weapon, the Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.
North-South relations further deteriorated after North Korea claimed that a military reconnaissance satellite it launched last month immediately began providing images of military facilities in the United States and South Korea.
The launch broke up a military pact between South Korea established to ease tensions on the peninsula and subsequently tightened security along the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two countries.
Source: guardian.ng