South Korea says it has ability to intercept North Korea’s missiles

Seoul, October 11

South Korea said on 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 on Monday its two weeks of firing drills involved nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, warplanes and other assets to practice possible attacks on South Korean and US targets. North Korea said the drills were meant to issue a warning to Seoul and Washington, which staged provocative joint naval drills involving a US 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 the North as a legitimate nuclear state and lift economic sanctions on the North.

Moon Hong Sik, acting spokesperson at the South Korean Defence Ministry, described North Korean nuclear threats as “very grave and serious.” But he told reporters that the South Korean missile defence system is capable of detecting and intercepting the weapons systems that North Korea said it mobilised in its drills.

Moon said South Korea is still pushing to introduce spy satellites, various surveillance drones and additional sea-based reconnaissance assets to better monitor North Korea.

South Korean President Yoon Suk said the recent weapons demonstrations showed that the North’s nuclear threat is “getting serious every day”.

According to North Korean announcement on its seven rounds of launches, the weapons mobilised in the drills include a new type of intermediate-range ballistic missile that travelled about 4,500 km, a distance sufficient to reach the US Pacific territory of Guam and beyond.

In the face of the increasing North Korean nuclear threat, South Korea has been strengthening its missile defences while also developing preemptive attack plans.