SEOUL: South Korea’s military said Tuesday it’s capable of detecting and intercepting the variety of missiles North Korea launched in a barrage of recent simulated nuclear attacks on its rivals, though it maintains the North’s advancing nuclear program poses a grave security threat.
North Korea said Monday its two weeks of firing drills involved nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, warplanes and other assets to practice possible strikes on South Korean and U.S. targets. North Korea said the drills were meant as a warning to Seoul and Washington for staging “dangerous” joint naval exercises involving a U.S. aircraft carrier.
The North Korean launches, part of its record-breaking run of weapons tests this year, were seen as an attempt by leader Kim Jong Un to acquire a more intimidating arsenal to pressure its rivals to accept his country as a legitimate nuclear state and lift economic sanctions on the North. Moon Hong Sik, acting spokesperson at the South Korean Defense Ministry, described North Korean nuclear threats as “very grave and serious.” But he told reporters that the South Korean missile defense system is capable of detecting and intercepting the weapons systems that North Korea said it mobilized in its drills. –Agencies
