South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Friday observed a test-firing of a new mid-range missile the nation is developing to cope with growing threats from North Korea.
After the launch at a military test site on the southwest coast, Moon said it was important for South Korea to maintain military capability that could “dominate” North Korea to maintain peace on the peninsula, and for future engagement policies with the North to be effective, his spokesman Park Soo-hyun said.
Park did not say how far the Hyunmoo-2 missile flew or where it landed, but said it accurately hit its target space.
“Our people will feel proud and safe after seeing that our missile capability doesn’t trail North Korea’s,” Park quoted Moon as saying.
He quoted Moon as saying he supported dialogue, but added: “Dialogue is only possible when we have a strong military and engagement policies are only possible when we have the security capability to dominate North Korea.”
North Korea this year has tested several new missile systems, including a powerful mid-range missile experts say could one day reach targets as far as Hawaii or Alaska.
The North also conducted two nuclear tests last year as it pursues a long-range nuclear missile that could reach the US mainland.
The tests present a challenge to Moon, a liberal who took office last month and has expressed a desire to reach out to Pyongyang.
South Korea’s military plans to deploy the Hyunmoo-2, which is designed to hit targets as far as 800km, after conducting two more test firings.
The missile is considered as a key component to the so-called “kill chain” pre-emptive strike capability the South is pursuing to cope with the North’s growing nuclear and missile threat.
Besides expanding its missile arsenal, South Korea is also strengthening its missile defense systems, which include Patriot-based systems and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense battery under deployment in the southeast county of Seongju.
South Korea began developing Hyunmoo-2 after a 2012 agreement with the US to increase the range of its weapons to 800km and raise the warhead limit to 500kg.
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