The Defense Ministry released video footage of the missiles being launched from destroyers and submarines striking mock targets. The weapon was previewed in April last year and officials said deployment was now complete. “The cruise missile being unveiled today is a precision-guided weapon that can identify and strike the window of the office of North Korea‘s leadership,” ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok said told reporters.
North Korea has forged ahead with long-range missile development, successfully launching a rocket in December that put a satellite into orbit. The North’s ultimate aim, Washington believes, is to design an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead that could hit the United States.
North Korea, which accuses the United States and its “puppet”, South Korea, of war mongering on an almost daily basis, is likely to respond angrily to South Korea flexing its muscles.
North Korea, technically still at war with the South after their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, carried out its third nuclear test on Tuesday, drawing condemnation from around the world including its only major ally China. The test and the threat of more unspecified actions from Pyongyang have raised tensions on the Korean peninsula as the South prepares to inaugurate a new president on February 25.
“The situation prevailing on the Korean peninsula at present is so serious that even a slight accidental case may lead to an all-out war which can disturb the whole region,” North Korea‘s official KCNA news agency said.
아주경제 앤드류 이 기자=
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.