Pentagon Increases Defense Against North Korea
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14 additional ballistic missile interceptors will be added to the 30 already stationed in California and Alaska, and additional naval missile defense warships will be stationed near the Korean Peninsula. The precautions were hinted at in a speech given Tuesday by Undersecretary of Defense James Miller, who said that the United States could deploy the 14 interceptors "if needed".
Hagel cited North Korea's recent developments in nuclear technology and long-range missile production, including its successful launch of a satellite using the same technology needed to launch ballistic missiles, as reasons for the increased defense that will cost almost $1 billion.
""North Korea…has recently made advances in its capabilities and has engaged in a series of irresponsible and reckless provocations," he said.
SEE ALSO: | History of North Korea's Nuclear Threats
Last week, North Korea sent repeated threats to the United States and "its puppet," South Korea, of a nuclear strike, and terminated the armistice with the U.S that ended the Korean War in 1953. Yahoo News reported that the U.N. Security Council responded with increased sanctions against North Korea, including banning the trade of specific luxury items.
Hagel says that the interceptors will be tested for accuracy and that the U.S. will work with Japan to improve radar systems so that any missiles fired by North Korea can be detected early. However, Joe Cirincione, the president of an anti-nuclear organization called the Ploughshares Fund, told CNN that the interceptors are an overreaction to a threat that North Korea has yet to back up.
The existing missile defense system was "deeply flawed," said Cirincione, whose foundation opposes nuclear weapons. He added that North Korea was "years away from the ability to field a missile with a nuclear warhead that could hit the United States."
The interceptors are expected to be fully implemented by 2017.
