On Monday, the White House said that Pyongyang has not given any indication of preparing its 1.2 million-strong armed forces for land combat, but Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told an audience at the National Defense University that “Some of the actions they’ve taken over the last few weeks present a real and clear danger.”
The mid-range Musudan missile, North Korea is supposed to have moved to its east cost, according to South Korea’s Yonhap news agency, has a range of 3,000 km or more, and can attack any part of South Korea, parts of Japan, and the U.S. base in Guam from the east coast of North Korea.
In response to the threats, the U.S. is sending a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system (THAAD) to Guam. The system is equipped with AN/TPY-2 tracking radar, interceptor missiles and a truck-mounted missile launcher.
Speaking on the recent threats issued by North Korea, Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council said, “It is yet another offering in a long line of provocative statements that only serve to further isolate North Korea from the rest of the international community and undermine its goal of economic development.”
In its latest assertion of hostile behavior, North Korea has shut down the Kaesong industrial zone on Thursday, where South Korean companies used to operate inside North Korea by employing North Korean workers. Until now, Seoul has reported North Korea saying that it would allow only 222 South Korean workers to leave, while about 606 South Koreans may be stranded in the Kaesong industrial zone.