North Korea previously fired an SLBM on April 23 in a test hailed as an “eye-opening success” by leader Kim Jong-un, who at the time declared his country had the ability to strike Seoul and the US.
Advertisement
In response, the North cautioned that it would cut off even indirect diplomatic contact with the US and handle its current American prisoners – a college student and a man in his 60s – under the potentially tougher guidelines of martial law.
Washington and Seoul announced the deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system on Friday with a view to minimizing potential damage from an increasingly unsafe North Korea, led by the youthful Kim Jong Un, son of the late dictator Kim Jong Il and grandson of the country’s founder, Kim Il Sung.
The US State Department spokesperson John Kirby said that it is a purely defensive system. While security experts say it’s unlikely that North Korea possesses an operational submarine capable of firing missiles, they acknowledge that the North is making progress on such technology.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement that it presumed the missile successfully ejected from the submarine’s launch tube but failed in its early stage of flight. North Korea accused America of trying to “dominate the world” and of invading the north. The other, Korean-American Kim Dong Chul, is serving a 10 year sentence for espionage, state media said.
A University of Virginia spokesman said the university remains in touch with Warmbier’s family but did not have additional comment.
Another provocation from North Korea, this time it tried – unsuccessfully – to test-fire a submarine-launched ballistic missile or SLBM.
The US and South Korea said the anti-missile system will be used to counter North Korea’s growing nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities.
The announcement is the latest move by the allies against the North which conducted its fourth nuclear test this year and launched a long-range rocket, resulting in tough new United Nations sanctions and a series of bilateral sanctions against it.
“We once again warn the enemies that it is the steadfast will of the Korean People’s Army (KPA) to make merciless retaliatory strikes to reduce South Korea to a sea of flames and debris once an order is issued”, the dispatch warned. Otherwise, he said, it would face “decisive and strong punishment from our military”.
“One THAAD unit can cover half or two-thirds of South Korea”, he said.
The planned deployment of the powerful anti-missile system has angered the South’s neighbours including China, which said Friday the move would “seriously damage” regional security in northeast Asia.
Advertisement
A South Korean Defence Ministry official said selection of a site for THAAD could come “within weeks”.
