South Korea Keeps Increasing its Arsenal, Agitates North

On Wednesday, South Korea tested its first-ever ballistic missile with a range of more than 500 kilometers, citing that it needs to better protect itself from "ever-growing nuclear and missile threats by the North," Yonhap News said.

The missile launch was attended by South Korean President Park Geun Hye. The test showed that the missile is capable of striking all parts of North Korea with precision in the event of an armed confrontation, according to Reuters.

The new ballistic missile is part of a system known as the "Kill Chain," which is an integration of information, surveillance and strike systems of South Korea, as well as the Korea Air and Missile Defense systems. The "Kill Chain" will give South Korea an opportunity to launch pre-emptive strikes against its northern neighbor within minutes.

The North was rightfully concerned about the turn of events south of the border.

"[The test] is part of acts of treachery as it was aimed to hurt the fellow countrymen with arms provided by outside forces," an unidentified spokesman for the Strategic Force of the North Korean People's Army said in a statement, as cited by Yonhap News.

As a response, the North Korean Ministry of National Defense said it has effective measures to counter the South Korean missile.

Last month, Pyongyang said it had successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM). Now South Korea is concerned that it will be difficult to track down the new underwater ballistic missile due to its mobile and stealthy nature.