An international magazine focused on Asia-Pacific affairs has assessed that the military gap between the two Koreas remains wide despite the North’s disclosure of a new anti-ship missile.
 
The Tokyo-based magazine ‘The Diplomat’ said Monday that the anti-ship missile the North revealed earlier this month appears to be a Russian Kh-35, which the report said the North christened the KN-09 and claimed as its own.
 
The report said “it can be argued that the North’s newest missile is an attempt at economical force modernization rather than a ‘silver bullet’ to counteract South Korea’s naval superiority.”
 
The report said the new anti-ship missile appears to be a replacement for the outdated Soviet SS-N-2 Styx and the Chinese Silkworm.
 
The report noted that the North also recently built three Nongo-class fast attack craft warships armed with KN-09 missiles, adding however, that they are still outclassed by their South Korean Navy contemporaries, including the Chang Bogo-class submarines.
 
The magazine said "even if the modernization of the North’s fleet is accounted for, and deployment of the KN-09 amongst the North’s surface maximized, the South Korean navy would still prevail in any open seas conflict."
 
The report said what would be a serious cause of concern regarding the North would be "any significant increase in its nuclear warheads from the 12 it is currently believed to possess along with the demonstration of a reliable intercontinental ballistic missile."