Agency for Defense Development
The first KSS-III ship will be ready for service by 2025. The previous plan was to have an operational unit ready by 2017. Due to the relatively heavy displacement of the ship (3000~3500 tons) and the fact that it will be built with local Korean technologies (sensitive technologies might be blocked from export) the production of the submarine was delayed. This new class of ship will have the Korean Vertical Launching System which will be able to carry up to 10 indigenous Chonryong submarine-launched cruise missiles. The first submarine in the Republic of Korea Navy to have this kind of capability. It will also have many other improvements compared to its predecessors. Reports indicate South Korea might even deploy SLBMs inside the vertical launchers. Development of SLBMs by Agency for Defense Development is expected to be completed by 2020. SLBMs will be a derivative of Hyunmoo-2 ballistic missiles.