The US and South Korea have not yet announced the location and time of the installation for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAD) system, though North Korea has said it will retaliate as soon as they do.
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Some skeptics have said that the Scud’s low trajectory and short flight time would make it impossible for THAAD to intercept, and that the 48 interceptor missiles in the arsenal of a single THAAD battery are not enough to stop 1,000 North Korean ballistic missiles.
The salvo began at 5:45 a.m. with almost back-to-back Scud missiles and was followed with a Rodong intermediate-range ballistic missile about an hour later, according to a statement from the U.S. Strategic Command.
Experts are now analyzing whether North Korea may be conducting another nuclear test, which would be the fifth in its history.
Yang Uk, a senior researcher at the Korea Defence and Security Forum and a policy adviser to the South Korean navy, said there was little firm evidence to suggest the North had succeeded in developing a nuclear warhead for missiles.
North Korea launched three ballistic missiles Tuesday, traveling between 300 and 360 miles into the sea off the country’s eastern coast.
“We intend to raise our concerns at the United Nations to bolster worldwide resolve in holding the DPRK (North Korea) accountable for these provocative actions”, Ross said.
Last month leader Kim Jong-un boasted of Pyongyang’s “sure capability” to destroy United States targets in the Pacific after testing a medium-range missile.
For decades after the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, the rival Koreas sent agents across their heavily fortified border to infiltrate to each other’s territory.
South Korea had chose to deploy the system in light of increasing missile and bomb tests from the North. North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January, and held a launch of a spacecraft many suspected was actually a missile test in February.
The resolution prohibits North Korea’s use of ballistic missile technology. Seoul accuses Pyongyang of sending spies disguised as ordinary refugees seeking to resettle in South Korea or nurturing pro-North figures in the South.
South Korea announced last week the THAAD system would be deployed in the southeastern county of Seongju.
Busan is a port city in the south.
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“But before we can do that, they’re going to have to make a clear commitment to ending these kinds of provocations and abiding by the U.N. Security Council Resolutions that govern both their nuclear weapons program and their ballistic missile program”, he said.
