According to US and South Korean intelligence reports, the Musudan missiles are
being transported towards the Sea of Japan.
A statement circulated by the Korean People’s Army says Pyongyang has given a ‘final approval’ for a nuclear strike and is ready to counter threats coming from the United States by ‘striking at them with contemporary nuclear weapons’.
A statement circulated by the Korean People’s Army says Pyongyang has given a ‘final approval’ for a nuclear strike and is ready to counter threats coming from the United States by ‘striking at them with contemporary nuclear weapons’.
Experts in Seoul say the re-deployment of North Korea’s Musudan missile is
but a demonstration of strength ahead of the anniversary of the birth of the
founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung, celebrated on April 15th .
But the Pentagon is taking it seriously. Speaking at the National
Defense University,
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel said the current situation precludes any
mistakes.
Musudan-class missiles have a range of about 3,000 kilometers. They can hit
targets in South Korea
and in neighboring Japan
and are thought able to reach the island
of Guam in the Pacific. Up to 50
such missiles were displayed during a military parade in Pyongyang
in October 2010. Military experts say, however, that these missiles are raw and
need testing.
Nevertheless, the US
plans to deploy elements of the THAAD anti-ballistic missile defense system on Guam
within the next two weeks. Washington
has also sent two destroyers with missile defense systems to the South Korean
coast and is moving back the chemical warfare battalion that was pulled out of South
Korea in 2004.
Meanwhile, Pyongyang has
said it is withdrawing all 53,000 North Korean workers from the Kaesong
joint industrial zone and has barred South Korean experts from entering the
zone. US State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland says such a measure will
only make things worse for the North.
Pyongyang is taking measures to
restart the Yongbyon nuclear facility which was shut down in 2007 following
disarmament talks between North Korea
and the international community. The Yongbyon reactor, capable of producing
weapon-grade plutonium, is due to be reactivated in several weeks, far earlier
than planned. According to US data, the 8,000 fuel rods that are currently in
storage at the facility are enough to produce eight nuclear warheads.
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