SEOUL, Dec. 28 (UPI) — North Korea is focusing on the development of short-range anti-aircraft missiles for coastal defense, a Seoul government source said.
Pyongyang is planning for an emergency, or a scenario in which joint U.S.-South Korea air and naval attacks strike North Korea’s eastern coast, South Korean news network YTN reported Sunday.
The government source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the missiles are under development and have a range of up to 62 miles. The missile was identified as a KN-06, Yonhap reported.
North Korea also is improving its existing stock of ship-to-ship missiles and test-fired a greater number of the weapons in 2015. The ship-to-ship missile is a KN-01.
Kim Jong Un attended more than 20 military training events in 2015, and more than nine air force-training operations, as North Korea continued to condemn joint U.S.-South Korea joint exercises.
Even as North Korea steps up defense training, Pyongyang has been seeking an end to tensions at the border.
On Monday, state-controlled Rodong Sinmun issued an editorial imploring Seoul to take down concrete anti-tank structures between North and South Korea, NK News reported.
South Korea built the wall in 1977, during the reign of President Park Chung-hee, the father of current President Park Geun-hye.
North Korea said the wall was a “fundamental reason for the long-lasting division of the Korean peninsula,” adding, “The deconstruction of the concrete wall must proceed to accomplish … unification.”
Kim Min-seok, a senior researcher at the Korea Defense and Security Forum, told NK News the wall is in place to stop North Korean tanks from invading the South.
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