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MISSILE DEFENSE
S. Korea speeds up US missile defence over North's missile test
 by Staff Writers
 Seoul (AFP) July 29, 2017


US, S. Korea conduct live-fire exercise after ICBM test
Washington (AFP) July 28, 2017 - The US and South Korean militaries conducted a live-fire exercise using surface-to-surface missiles in response to North Korea's test of an intercontinental ballistic missile, the US Army said Friday.

The joint exercise, which occurred Saturday morning South Korea time, came shortly after officials said that the heads of the US and South Korean militaries had discussed "military response options" after North Korea's launch.

In a statement, the Army said the exercise involved the surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) and South Korea's Hyunmoo Missile II.

The systems "fired missiles into territorial waters of South Korea along the East Coast July 5," the Army said.

"The ATACMS can be rapidly deployed and engaged and provides deep-strike precision capability, enabling the ROK-US alliance to engage a full array of time-critical targets under all weather conditions."

The US and South Korean militaries conducted similar exercises after North Korea's first test of an ICBM on July 4.

Immediately after Friday's ICBM test, General Joe Dunford, who is Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Admiral Harry Harris, who heads the US military's Pacific Command, spoke with South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman, General Lee Sun Jin.

"During the call, Dunford and Harris expressed the ironclad commitment to the US-Republic of Korea alliance," Dunford spokesman Captain Greg Hicks said in a statement.

"The three leaders also discussed military response options."

While the Pentagon has long planned for the possibility of conflict with North Korea, the blunt language in the statement marked a departure from previous public reactions to missile tests.

Those earlier reactions typically decried the tests but did not emphasize military options.

It was the first time Dunford, who has been in his position for two years, had issued a statement raising military options, though he has discussed the topic in public conversations.

Pentagon chief Jim Mattis, who is currently on vacation, slammed North Korea's first test launch of an ICBM on July 4 as a "provocation," but stressed then that the United States seeks a diplomatic solution to the standoff.

"We remain prepared to defend ourselves and our allies from any attack or provocation," Pentagon spokesman Captain Jeff Davis said.

North Korea's latest intercontinental ballistic missile test has prompted the South to speed up the deployment of a US missile defence system, Seoul's defence minister said Saturday, despite strong protests from China.

The US military will also roll out "strategic assets" to the South following the North's missile test late Friday, Song Young-Moo said.

Parts of the THAAD defence system were brought into the country under the government of ousted president Park Geun-Hye, but new leader Moon Jae-In suspended deployment of the programme last month, citing the need for a new environmental impact assessment.

"We will soon start consultations on the tentative deployment" of the remaining components of the THAAD battery in response to Pyongyang's most recent test, the defence minister told journalists.

The THAAD battery comprises six interceptor missile launchers. Two launchers have been tentatively deployed at a golf course-turned-US military base in Seongju County, 300 kilometres (187.5 miles) south of Seoul.

The THAAD deployment has infuriated China, which has long argued it will destabilise the region.

"China expresses serious concern about the actions of the Republic of Korea," Beijing's ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement Saturday.

"China's resolute opposition to the deployment by the USA of the THAAD system in South Korea is consistent and clear. The THAAD system deployment cannot solve South Korea's security concerns, neither can it solve the problems facing the Korean peninsula.

"It will only make these problems more complicated."

The North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) ran a statement late Saturday warning of a "miserable fate" for the South's government if it persists with the scheme, in a typically bellicose piece railing against THAAD.

Seoul's defence minister did not provide details on the "strategic assets" the US planned to send to the Korean peninsula and the surrounding area.

The phrase normally refers to high-profile weapons systems, such as stealth bombers and aircraft carriers.

The South's defence ministry also released a video of a newly developed ballistic missile which it said was one of the world's "most accurate and powerful" weapons and capable of striking "any target in the North at any time and any place".

MISSILE DEFENSE
Yemeni rebel missile shot down near Mecca: Arab coalition
 Riyadh (AFP) July 28, 2017
 A ballistic missile fired by Yemeni rebels was shot down late Thursday close to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, a month before the annual Hajj pilgrimage to Islam's holiest site, the Arab military coalition fighting in Yemen said. The missile was intercepted 69 kilometres (43 miles) south of the city in western Saudi Arabia, the coalition said in a statement, calling it "a desperate attempt by Shiite ... read more
Related Links
 Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

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