SEOUL \u2014 South Korea on Wednesday test-fired two ballistic missiles capable of hitting any part of North Korea, in an apparent response to recent bellicose boasts from Pyongyang about its nuclear and missile capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an unusual move, President Park Geun-Hye personally observed the test exercise, a defense ministry official said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The military tested two home-developed, long-range missiles that could hit any target in North Korea,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The test came almost a month after North Korea said it had successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) \u2014 a claim which numerous experts said was probably exaggerated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fully developed SLBM capability would take the North Korean nuclear threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and giving it the potential to retaliate in the event of a nuclear attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As well as the SLBM test, Pyongyang recently boasted of its ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to fit on high-precision, long-range rockets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Experts also questioned that claim, although there is broad agreement that the North is moving ahead quickly with both its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The type of South Korean missile tested Wednesday is capable of carrying a one-tonne payload up to 500 kilometers (310 miles).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was developed under an agreement reached in 2012 with the United States to almost triple the range of the South’s ballistic missile systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A similar missile was previously tested in April 2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea and guarantees a nuclear “umbrella” in case of any atomic attack.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In return, Seoul accepts limits on its missile capabilities and had previously operated under a range and payload ceiling of 300 kilometers and 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Given the ambitions of North Korea’s own missile program, the South had long argued for the limits to be extended.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 2012 agreement, which was denounced as a provocation by Pyongyang, allows the South to deploy missiles with a maximum range of 800 kilometers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
While the maximum payload for that range remains 500 kilograms, the two parameters are inversely linked, so that for shorter ranges corresponding payload increases are allowed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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