North Koreans ‘continue to learn’ by each launch, Pentagon says
Although the latest missile test by North Korea did not demonstrate any specific advancements in Pyongyang’s technology, it still means the resolute country’s scientists “continue to learn” more and more about military know-how.
Speaking among reporters, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Robert Manning called Pyongyang’s latest launch a “threat.”
“We have to make the assumption that they continue to learn throughout each one of these missile launches,” Manning said. “You're still firing missiles, so that's a threat.”
Three missiles were launched from Kittaeryong on North Korea’s east coast over the weekend, according to US Pacific Command (PACOM). Two of the missiles reportedly flew some 155 miles in the northeastern direction while the third one exploded almost immediately.
“If you’re asking if those three short-range missiles was less of a threat, the answer is no. It was a provocative action," the Pentagon spokesman said.
‘Worst possible moment'
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have heightened since Washington recently engineered tougher sanctions in the United Nations Security Council over the North’s testing of two intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Earlier on Monday, South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers that Pyongyang may be preparing for another test.
North Korea "has completed its preparation to carry out a nuclear test at Tunnel 2 and Tunnel 3 of the Punggye-ri nuclear test site," said Kim Byung-kee, a lawmaker of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party (DP).
North Koreans are particularly outraged at this year’s Washington-Seoul joint war games.
North Korean officials maintain that the military games come at the "worst possible moment" and that the Americans would be "wholly responsible" for its consequences.
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