Winter Olympics will be held safely, says South Korea on North Korea nuclear test

He assured that the PyeongChang Winter Olympics that the South Korea is supposed to host in February next year will not be affected by these provocations.

Hours after their neighbour claimed to have successfully tested an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which has the capability of striking the US mainland, the South Korean government said that they are prepared to tackle any kind of attack from the North Korea.

South Korea's deputy minister of defence policy, Mr. Yeo Suk-joo on Wednesday said that they have strong a defence strategy and are prepared for any kind of attack.

He also assured that the PyeongChang Winter Olympics that the South Korea is supposed to host in February next year will not be affected by these provocations.

"We just want to say that the Winter Olympics will be organised safely and well," he said.

Officials from the defence here said that such attempts of sabotage have taken place in the past from across the borders before international events.

In 1987, right before the Seoul Summer Olympics 1988, an operation by the North Korea on the Korean Air Flight over the Andaman Sea near Myanmar, killed 104 passengers and 11 crew members, out of which two were Indians.

In 2002 too, a North Korean patrol boat crossed the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea and opened fire on a South Korean patrol boat during the World Cup. In the attack six people were killed.

Mr. Yeo also relied on their strong relations with the US saying that the America's nuclear umbrella will defend the South Korea.

"We have rock solid alliance with the US and our internal defence system is also prepared," he said.

The Korean government said that the situation with the North Korea under the dictatorship of Kim Jong-un is tense but it is manageable.

"Everybody is highlighting the tension but underneath all this there is also efforts of a dialogue with them," Mr. Yeo said.

The ministry said that their day started at 1.00 am on Wednesday. Soon after the nuclear test by the North Korea, a footage was released by the Korean Ministry of Defence, showing three missiles taking off.

The retaliation reportedly took place just six minutes after North Korea launched their fresh missile test at 3.00 am.