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| North Korea test launches an alleged hypersonic missile, Jan. 11, in this photo provided by the North Korean government. AP-Yonhap |
North Korea has been preparing for test launches to master technologies for new liquid-fuel intercontinental and submarine-launched ballistic missiles while remaining ready for a nuclear test, South Korea's defense ministry said Tuesday.
The ministry made the assessment in a policy report to a parliamentary audit that kicked off just hours after North Korea fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) over Japan in its first launch of an IRBM in eight months.
"North Korea has been preparing for test launches designed to master technologies for a new liquid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile and submarine-launched ballistic missile, and has been continuously pushing to upgrade capabilities of solid-fuel missiles," the ministry said.
The ministry also said key nuclear facilities in the North, including a reactor at the Yongbyon complex, have been in normal operation and the North remains capable of conducting a nuclear test.
"(The North) has been continuing efforts to advance its nuclear capabilities," it said.
Asked about when the North completed preparations required for what would be its seventh nuclear test, Seoul's Defense Minister Lee Jong-sup said, "Around May."
"But it is difficult to predict when (a nuclear test would proceed)," the minister added, noting the test, if conducted, could involve a small nuclear weapon for actual use or one that may be stronger than the previous one.
To counter the North's threats, the ministry highlighted its ongoing efforts to reinforce the so-called three-axis deterrence system.
The system consists of the Kill Chain preemptive strike platform; the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation, a program to target an adversary's leadership in a contingency; and the Korea Air and Missile Defense system. (Yonhap)
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