US to bolster missile defenses against Pyongyang threat

WASHINGTON: The United States said it would bolster defenses against a possible North Korean missile strike a week after Pyongyang threatened a “pre-emptive” nuclear attack against its arch-foe.
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said Friday 14 more interceptors would be stationed in Alaska, increasing by almost half the 30 already deployed along the California and Alaska coastlines. The aim is to have them in place by 2017.
N. Korea has threatened to unleash a second Korean War — backed by nuclear weapons — in response to UN sanctions imposed after its third atomic test in February and joint S. Korea-US military maneuvers.
As tensions spiral, the North fired short-range missiles into the East Sea (Sea of Japan) Friday, Yonhap news agency said, after leader Kim Jong-Un previously oversaw a live-fire drill near the disputed Yellow Sea border with the South.
Hagel said the defense upgrade was designed to “stay ahead of the threat” from the N. Korean regime, which claims to possess missiles capable of carrying a nuclear warhead to the continental United States.
“The United States has missile defense systems in place to protect us from limited ICBM (intercontinental ballistic missile) attacks,” Hagel said.
“But N. Korea in particular has recently made advances in its capabilities and is engaged in a series of irresponsible and reckless provocations.”
Apart from mobilizing the additional interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska, Hagel also confirmed an announcement made last year that US plans to deploy a second advanced radar to Japan.
Hagel said the Pentagon was conducting environmental impact studies to clear the way for a possible additional American site for a ground-based missile interceptor, but no location had been chosen.