US Allies Must Embrace Advanced Missile Defense to Counter North Korea Nuclear Threat
Bruce Klingner / July 22, 2016 / 4 comments
Bruce Klingner, a senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at The Heritage Foundation's Asian Studies Center, spent 20 years in the intelligence community working at the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency. Read his research
North Korea provocatively conducted missile tests on Wednesday, a clear warning to the United States and its allies that nuclear defense systems must remain a priority.
North Korea launched one Scud and two No Dong missiles 500-600 kilometers and announced it was a practice drill for preemptive nuclear attacks on South Korea and U.S. forces based there. Pyongyang has conducted an unprecedented number of missile launches this year to refine its ability to target with nuclear weapons South Korea, Japan, Guam, and U.S. forces stationed in the western Pacific.
Seoul recently agreed to the deployment of the U.S. THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missile defense system to augment protection from North Korea’s growing missile threat. The advanced defense system is more capable than any system that South Korea has or would have for decades. The planned allied deployment has triggered Chinese economic, diplomatic, and military threats even though the defensive system would not impact Chinese security interests and is in response to Beijing’s North Korean ally provocations and threats.
http://dailysignal.com/2016/07/22/north-korea-practices-preemptive-nuclear-attack-on-south-korea/
