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S. Korea test-fires longer-range ballistic missile

June 3, 2015

President Park Geun-hye watches a ballistic missile with a range of at least 500 kilometers as it is launched from a firing range of the state-run Agency for Defense Development in Taean, South Chungcheong Province, on South Korea’s west coast on June 3, 2015, in this photo released by the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. The missile, developed over the past three years, is capable of reaching nearly all parts of North Korea, the Defense Ministry said. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, June 3 (Yonhap) — South Korea successfully test-fired a ballistic missile capable of reaching nearly all parts of North Korea, the Defense Ministry said Wednesday, in an apparent show of force against the communist country.

The ministry said the missile with a range of at least 500 kilometers hit an intended target after being launched from a firing range in Taean on the country’s west coast, though it did not provide any further details on how far the missile flew.

President Park Geun-hye watched the test during a visit to the site, the first such move by a president in three decades.

The test “demonstrated the performance of an advanced ballistic missile capable of striking North Korea” swiftly and precisely if provoked, the presidential office said.

The test came amid tensions on the Korean Peninsula over North Korea’s provocative actions in recent months, including a launch of a ballistic missile from a submarine. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un observed what Pyongyang claims was the successful launch.

“North Korea will have no choice but to come forward for dialogue rather than provocation” when South Korea maintains a substantial deterrence and a firm readiness against North Korea, Park said.

The ministry said South Korea plans to deploy the new missile — which will be capable of hitting nuclear and missile bases across the communist country — by the end of the year.

The development began in 2012 when South Korea and the United States announced new missile guidelines that extended the maximum range of Seoul’s ballistic missiles from 300 km to 800 km. It also allows Seoul to load its ballistic missiles with warheads heavier than the current limit of 500 kilograms, on the condition their range decreases in proportion to the payload.

So far, the South Korean military has a ballistic missile with a range of 300 kilometers capable of carrying a 500-kilogram warhead.

South Korea said it plans to develop long-range surface-to-air missiles capable of intercepting incoming ballistic missiles as part of its defense strategy against North Korea’s possible aggression.

North Korea has deployed ballistic missiles with various ranges capable of reaching South Korea, Japan and U.S. military bases in the Pacific, while developing intercontinental ballistic missiles and technology to miniaturize nuclear warheads to fit atop missiles.

The North recently claimed that it has mastered the technology to make nuclear warheads small enough to mount on missiles.