S. Korea Tests German-built 500-km Range Taurus Cruise Missile

South Korea's Air Force successfully test-fired a 500-kilometer-range advanced air-launched cruise missile during its first live-fire exercise in South Chungcheong Province, on Tuesday.

The Air Force's F-15K fighter jet fired a Taurus missile, which flew some 400 kilometers and precisely hit an intended target in the coastal waters off Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, Yonhap reports.

Germany-built Taurus, a long-range air-to-surface missile, is capable of carrying out precision attacks on targets in the North's capital Pyongyang, even if it is fired as far as from the central part of South Korea.

The latest exercise was also designed to test the Air Force's integration of the German missile with local fighter jets and its performance.

"By hitting the target precisely, the exercise showed off the military's capability to respond to an enemy attack, as well as its ability to launch precision attacks on strategic targets even from a far distance," the Air Force said.

With the maximum speed of 1,163 kph, Taurus' range expands to the entire North Korea if it is fired near the South Korean capital Seoul, putting any target in the communist country within a 15-minute reach of the weapon.

South Korea is currently on course to deploy some 170 Taurus missiles as part of its on-going air defense build-up plan, Kill Chain, and decided to import around 90 more last year.