Americas

Americas

U.S. Expresses Support for S.Korea Missile Program

04 May 2012 04:56 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The U.S. Department of State sees no threat in South Koreaâ€™s ballistic missile program and is set to continue its support for Seoulâ€™s efforts to boost the country’s defense capabilities, APA reports quoting RIA Novosti.

The announcement was made after media reports that South Korea designed ballistic missiles with a range than 300 km.

â€œWe are strongly in support of the defense of South Korea, and that goes without saying that we seek to work productively and constructively with South Korea on meeting their security needs,â€ Department of State Deputy Spokesperson Mark Toner.

However, the U.S. strongly opposes the space program in neighboring North Korea, which it says is a cover for a ballistic missile technology test.

Tensions on the Korean peninsula intensified following Pyongyang’s failed Unha-3 rocket launch which the North said would put a satellite into orbit. South Korean military experts said, citing intelligence data, that North Korea is likely to hold an underground nuclear weapon test soon.

When asked about any update on North Koreaâ€™s possible nuclear test, Toner said he had â€œnothing to point toâ€¦ other than the rumors that weâ€™ve heard in the press and elsewhere.â€

â€œI obviously canâ€™t speak any intelligence that we might have on this,â€ he added.