The United States said it would bolster defenses against a possible North Korean missile strike a week after Pyongyang threatened a "pre-emptive" nuclear attack against its arch-foe.
The United States said it would bolster defenses against a possible North Korean missile strike a week after Pyongyang threatened a "pre-emptive" nuclear attack against its arch-foe.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday 14 more interceptors would be stationed in Alaska, increasing by almost half the 30 already deployed along the California and Alaska coastlines. The aim is to have them in place by 2017.
North Korea has threatened to unleash a second Korean War -- backed by nuclear weapons -- in response to UN sanctions imposed after its third atomic test in February and joint South Korea-US military maneuvers.
As tensions spiral, the North fired short-range missiles into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) Friday, Yonhap news agency said, after leader Kim Jong-Un previously oversaw a live-fire drill near the disputed Yellow Sea border with the South.
Hagel said the defense upgrade was designed to "stay ahead of the threat" from the North Korean regime, which claims to possess missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the continental United States.
"The United States has missile defense systems in place to protect us from limited ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) attacks," Hagel said.
"But North Korea in particular has recently made advances in its capabilities and is engaged in a series of irresponsible and reckless provocations."
Apart from mobilizing the additional interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska, Hagel also confirmed an announcement made last year that the United States plans to deploy a second advanced radar to Japan.
Hagel said the Pentagon was conducting environmental impact studies to clear the way for a possible additional American site for a ground-based missile interceptor, but no location had been chosen.
North Korea has missiles that can strike South Korea and Japan but has yet to demonstrate it has the capability to fire long-range missiles that could reach the United States.
The plan to deploy additional interceptors came three days after US national intelligence director James Clapper warned in a congressional hearing for the first time that North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programs pose a serious threat to the United States" as well as its East Asian neighbors.
The United States retains a major military presence in the region, with naval ships equipped with anti-missile weaponry, 28,000 troops in South Korea and roughly 47,000 on the ground in Japan.
