Anchor: Testifying before the U.S. Congress, U.S. Forces Korea commander Gen. Paul LaCamera expressed concerns over North Korea's growing nuclear missile threats. While noting that the North already possesses capabilities to launch missiles toward Washington D.C., LaCamera also acknowledged that the regime's solid-fuel rocket technologies may leave less time for his military to detect and intercept incoming missiles.
Kim Bum-soo has more. 

Report: U.S. Forces Korea(USFK) commander Gen. Paul LaCamera says North Korea has already developed missiles capable of reaching the capital of the United States. 

[Sound bite: Commander of U.S. Forces Korea Gen. Paul LaCamera]
“The Korean War has not ended. We’re in an armistice and the Kim regime has developed capabilities that reach beyond Seoul, Tokyo Washington D.C. and the capitals of the United Nations Command Sending States.”

The USFK commander presented the assessment on Tuesday while testifying before the House Armed Services Committee of the U.S. Congress. 

[Sound bite: Commander of U.S. Forces Korea Gen. Paul LaCamera]
(Representative Don Bacon: “I know North Korea just tested a solid-fuel ballistic missile. How does that change the threat, in your perspective?”)
 “Our ability and indications for warning.”
(Representative Don Bacon: “So, in other words, it will shorten your indications and warning so you may get more surprise?”)
“Yes, sir.”

North Korea fired what it claimed to be its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18, last week.

That was the ninth ballistic missile launch by North Korea this year.

Compared to liquid-fuel missiles, solid-fuel rockets are easier to hide and transport, and can be launched more quickly, leaving less time for detection and interception.

Pyongyang claims that it can launch a preemptive nuclear attack against the U.S. in the event of a contingency.

On Capitol Hill, American lawmakers started to discuss the need to increase the total number of Ground-Based Midcourse Defense anti-ballistic missiles to deal with threats from the Korean Peninsula.

In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol said that Seoul, for its part, will bolster its surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence analysis capabilities and develop ultra-high-performance, high-power weapons to fend off threats from the North.
Kim Bum-soo, KBS WORLD Radio News.