SEOUL — Just days after North Korea declared it had conducted its third nuclear test, South Korea has unveiled a new missile it says is capable of hitting any target in the North.
Officials in Seoul do not specify the cruise missile's range, nor have they given it a name. But they say it can strike “anywhere at anytime” in North Korea. Defense ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok says the new weapon is “extremely destructive and powerful” and intended to restrain an enemy from carrying out an attack.
Kim says the precision-guided weapon is very accurate, able to hit the “windows of a North Korean command office.”
The ministry released video of test launches from a submarine and a destroyer, showing the weapon hitting targets on land.
Last year, the United States agreed to allow South Korea to expand the range of its ballistic missiles. South Korean military officials have said that is necessary in the face of a growing threat from the North.
South Korea and Japan are protected under the American nuclear umbrella and the U.S. has numerous military bases in the two countries, with tens of thousands of military personnel.
South Korea's military has been on a heightened state of alert since Tuesday's underground explosion at North Korea's nuclear test site. Large-scale military drills are underway in South Korea.