S Korea deploys new missile capable of hitting anywhere in N Korea

South Korea has deployed a new long-range cruise missile that puts nuclear and missile sites in the entire North Korean territory within striking distance, the South Korean defense ministry officials said on Thursday, amid growing security jitters sparked by the North's botched rocket launch. The new, home-grown cruise missile has a range of "more than 1,000 kilometers and can immediately strike anywhere in North Korea," said Maj. Gen. Shin Won-sik, the senior official in charge of policy planning at the ministry. Shin did not give the name of the new cruise missile, apparently for an intelligence matter, but South Korea has started manufacturing the surface-to-surface Hyunmu-3C with a range of up to 1,500 km since 2010. The previous versions of Hyunmu-3A and Hyunmu-3B, with a range of 500 km and 1,000 km each, were put into service, South Korean News Agency (Yonhap) reported. Together with the new cruise missile, the military has also deployed a new tactical ballistic missile with a range of 300 km, which is "more powerful than" the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) developed by the United States, Shin said. The defense ministry decided to publicly announce the deployment of the two missiles in a display of willingness that the military is keeping a watertight defense posture against North Korea's recent missile threat, Shin said. The rare announcement of new missile deployment comes as officials and analysts have warned that North Korea may stage more provocative actions, including a potential nuclear test, despite the failed launch of a long-range rocket last week. North Korea claimed the launch was designed to put a satellite into orbit, but South Korea, the United States and others blasted it as a cover for testing improved ballistic missile technology. The North's failed launch drew swift international condemnation. In New York on Monday, the United Nations Security Council "strongly condemned" the North's launch, saying it will impose new sanctions if Pyongyang carries out another launch of a long-range rocket or a nuclear test.