Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Thursday that North Korea is maintaining readiness to carry out another nuclear test at any time if its leadership decides to do so.
 
Han made the remark during an emergency inquiry before the National Assembly on the possibility of the North conducting a sixth nuclear test.
 
He said the North’s nuclear capability is considerably advanced and Pyongyang is hell-bent on completing its nuclear and missile programs.
 
The minister said South Korea’s concept of responding to the North’s progressing missile technology is also evolving. He explained that South Korea’s defense capacity is witnessing technological advancements, including the Kill Chain and Korean Air and Missile Defense preemptive strike system.
 
On China’s retaliation against the THAAD missile defense system in the South, Han said China and Russia possess missile radars that cover the entire region of Northeast Asia, including the Korean Peninsula. He cited that the scope of THAAD and other radars South Korea has is up to the northern part of the peninsula, saying that China is overreacting to the THAAD installment.
 

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