South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, speaks to reporters upon his arrival at the presidential office in Seoul, South Korea, Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022. South Korea said Tuesday it’s capable of detecting and intercepting the variety of missiles launched in a barrage of recent simulated nuclear attacks on its rivals, though it maintains the North’s advancing nuclear program poses a grave security threat. (Ahn Jung-hwan/Yonhap via AP)
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's military said Tuesday it’s capable of detecting and intercepting the variety of missiles North Korea launched in a barrage of recent simulated nuclear attacks on its rivals, though it maintains the North’s advancing nuclear program poses a grave security threat.
North Korea said Monday its two weeks of firing drills involved nuclear-capable ballistic missiles, warplanes and other assets to practice possible strikes on South Korean and U.S. targets. North Korea said the drills were meant as a warning to Seoul and Washington for staging “dangerous” joint naval exercises involving a U.S. aircraft carrier.
The North Korean launches, part of its record-breaking run of weapons tests this year, were seen as an attempt by leader Kim Jong Un to acquire a more intimidating arsenal to pressure its rivals to accept his country as a legitimate nuclear state and lift economic sanctions on the North.
Moon Hong Sik, acting spokesperson at the South Korean Defense Ministry, described North Korean nuclear threats as “very grave and serious.” But he told reporters that the South Korean missile defense system is capable of detecting and intercepting the weapons systems that North Korea said it mobilized in its drills.
Moon said South Korea is still pushing to introduce spy satellites, various surveillance drones and additional sea-based reconnaissance assets to better monitor North Korea.
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Despite Moon’s comments, some observers have said a portion of the North’s newly developed weapons — such as a highly maneuverable KN-23 missile modeled on Russia’s Iskander missile and a developmental hypersonic missile — may overcome South Korean and U.S. defenses. They also say if North Korea launches multiple missiles from different sites simultaneously, it would be more difficult for the allies to spot liftoffs in advance and shoot them down.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol reiterated his vow to strengthen South Korea’s defense in partnership with the United States and Japan. He said the recent weapons demonstrations showed that the North’s nuclear threat is “getting serious every day."
“North Korea has been consistently developing and advancing nuclear weapons capabilities and is now threatening not only (South Korea) but the entire world, but I think there is nothing North Korea could gain through nuclear bombs,” Yoon told reporters at his office in Seoul. He tried to reassure the public, calling for South Koreans to “not worry too much and do your best with economic activities and livelihoods.”