(VOVworld) - Pre-emptive strikes against North Korea's nuclear and missile facilities are an option if there were any signs of an imminent nuclear strike by Pyongyang, said South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman Moon Sang-gyun at a press conference on Monday.
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| Moon Sang-gyun, spokesman for South Korean Ministry of National Defense. (Photo: Yonhap) |
An official at Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the military was on high alert as North Korea might stage another provocation around the time of the founding anniversary of its ruling Workers' Party.
Pyongyang conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test last month after firing three ballistic missile launches. A Naval official said the ongoing joint exercise by South Korean and the US navies was to ramp up the allies' maritime interoperability in case of military provocation by the North.