The US takes very seriously the threat posed by North Korea’s “improving” missile programs, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby has said.
He, however, said the US is still assessing the nature North Korea’s recent missile launches, apparently to learn their exact capabilities, Yonhap news agency reported.
“We will continue to take this threat and this improving program of Pyongyang’s very, very seriously,” he told a press briefing when asked about North’s recent missile launches.
North Korea launched two short-range ballistic missiles on Monday (Seoul time), marking its fourth missile launch since the start of the new year.
Citing photos of the launch released by North Korea, Seoul officials have said the missiles fired Monday appeared to be the KN-24, which are said to be a North Korean version of the US’ Army Tactical Missile System or ATACMS that fly a complicated trajectory, making them hard to intercept.
“We’ve assessed them as ballistic missiles, and we’re still running the traps on that. So I don’t have more detail on that,” Kirby said when asked about the nature of the missiles involved in the latest North Korean launch.
North Korea fired what it claims to be a newly developed hypersonic missile on January 5 and January 11 before launching two short-range ballistic missiles on Friday.
Kirby noted the US has clearly and repeatedly called the North Korean missile launches a threat to US allies and partners in the region.
“We’re not devaluing anything. Not at all,” he said when asked if the US was downplaying the threat posed by the North Korean missile launches since they did not pose immediate threat to the US homeland.
“We have, as an administration, condemned these missile launches and called them out for what they are, clearly violations of various UN Security Council resolutions and dangerous to the region, certainly dangerous to our allies and partners, and we’re taking that very seriously. There’s no devaluing of any,” he added.
–IANS
int/shs
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
