South Korea tests long-range ballistic missile: report

South Korea tests long-range ballistic missile: report

Tokyo/Hong Kong: South Korea has tested a long-range ballistic missile capable of reaching anywhere in North Korea, Yonhap News reported, a day after its northern neighbour drew condemnation (निंदा) for launching another projectile(प्रक्षेप्य). The South Korean missile, with a range of 800 kilometers (500 miles), was tested recently and met key flight and accuracy requirements(आवश्यकताओं), Yonhap reported on Thursday, citing an unidentified(अज्ञात) source. A spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to comment on the report at a regular briefing in Seoul.

If confirmed, the test risks raising tensions with China, which protested against South Korea’s recent move to allow the US to install an anti-missile system on its territory. South Korea is bolstering its defence capabilities as Kim Jong Un’s regime works toward developing long-range, nuclear-tipped missiles.

“This is Seoul’s first missile with an 800-kilometer range and it will give South Korea the ability to put its launchers in the south out of range of North Korean missiles,” said Michael Cole, senior non-resident fellow at the University of Nottingham’s China Policy Institute in Taipei. “The thought of any country in Asia that can fire a missile that can come close to China’s border is never going to be welcomed by Chinese leadership.”