S Korea deploys new cruise missile that can hit ‘any’ target in North

A South Korean navy destroyer launches an indigenous cruise missile during a drill on February 14, 2013.

South Korea says it has deployed a new cruise missile which is capable of hitting targets in North Korea ‘anywhere, anytime’ in the wake of Pyongyang’s latest nuclear test.

South Korean Major General Ryu Young-Jeo told reporters on Thursday, “With this missile, we could hit any facility, equipment or individual target in the North anywhere at any time of our choosing.”

The South Korean Defense Ministry also released video footage of the newly deployed missiles being fired from destroyers and submarines.

Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-Seok said the cruise missile “being unveiled today is a precision-guided weapon that can identify and strike the window of the office of North Korea’s leadership.”

On February 12, North Korea announced that it had successfully carried out its third underground nuclear test, which involved “miniaturized” device and was conducted in a “perfect manner.”

The nuclear test drew immediate condemnations from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon along with several countries including the United States, South Korea, Russia, Japan.

The UN Security Council said in a statement on February 12, “There continues to exist a clear threat to international peace and security.” Members of the Council would “begin work immediately on appropriate measures in a Security Council resolution,” the statement added.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry also issued a statement saying that the nuclear test was the country’s “first” action against the US hostility.

If Washington maintains its hostile stance and “further complicates the situation,” Pyongyang will be left with “no choice but to take even stronger second or third rounds of action,” the North Korean statement added.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to the UN Susan Rice stated that North Korea should expect “increasing isolation and pressure.”

North Korea carried out two previous nuclear tests on October 9, 2006 and May 25, 2009.

Tough UN sanctions were imposed on Pyongyang after its latest rocket launch in December 2012, and North Korea will most likely face more problems as a result of Tuesday’s nuclear test

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