U.S. moves interceptor to Guam

Moment of explosion approaching, says North Korea

April 05, 2013 01:44 am | Updated November 16, 2021 10:05 pm IST - WASHINGTON:

The probability of a nuclear exchange between North Korea and other nations, including the U.S., inched upwards this week as Pyongyang put out a statement that “The moment of explosion is approaching fast,” and that U.S. aggression would be “smashed by... cutting-edge smaller, lighter and diversified nuclear strike means.”

The remarks raising tensions on the Korean peninsula came shortly after the Pentagon announced that it would mobilise the ground-based THAAD missile-interceptor batteries to protect its military bases on Guam, a U.S. territory located 3,380 km southeast of North Korea and “home to 6,000 American military personnel, submarines and bombers.”

On Wednesday, North Korea added that a war could break out “today or tomorrow.” The THAAD system includes a truck-mounted launcher and interceptor missiles, reports pointed out, and the Pentagon argued that its deployment would “strengthen our regional defence posture against the North Korean regional ballistic missile threat.”

South Korea confirmed that Pyongyang had moved a missile with “considerable range” to its east coast, but it was “not capable of hitting the U.S. mainland.”

The North Korean military, however, cautioned that it had received “final approval for military action” against the U.S., particularly responding to what it called the “provocative U.S. use of nuclear-capable B-52 and B-2 stealth bombers in the ongoing war games with South Korea.”

Even as U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel declared that North Korea posed “a real and clear danger” to South Korea, Japan and America, reports quoting unnamed South Korean and U.S. intelligence sources suggested that the allegedly untested North Korean Musudan missile had a theoretical range of 3,000 km, putting “all of South Korea and Japan within its reach.”

This March 18, 2009, handout from the U.S. Missile Defense Agency shows the launch of the THAAD missile during a test.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.