N. Korea says U.S. mainland is within range of its missiles

PanARMENIAN.Net - North Korea on Tuesday, Oct 9, warned that the U.S. mainland is within range of its missiles, and said Washington's recent agreement to let Seoul possess missiles capable of hitting all of the North shows the allies are plotting to invade the country, The Associated Press reported.

Seoul announced Sunday it reached a deal with Washington that would allow it to nearly triple the range of its missiles to better cope with North Korean missile and nuclear threats. On Tuesday, North Korea called the deal a "product of another conspiracy of the master and the stooge" to "ignite a war" against the North.

In a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, an unidentified spokesman at the powerful National Defense Commission said the North will bolster its military preparedness.

"We do not hide ... the strategic rocket forces are keeping within the scope of strike not only the bases of the puppet forces and the U.S. imperialist aggression forces' bases in the inviolable land of Korea but also Japan, Guam and the U.S. mainland," the spokesman said.

South Korea's Defense Ministry said Tuesday it had no official comment on the North's statement, but Seoul and Washington have repeatedly said they have no intention of attacking North Korea.

North Korean long-range rockets are believed to have a range of up to about 6,700 kilometers, putting parts of Alaska within reach, according to South Korea's Defense Ministry.

But the North's spotty record in test launches raises doubts about whether it is truly capable of an attack.

Although North Korea is believed to have a small nuclear arsenal, experts do not believe it has mastered the miniaturization technology required to mount a nuclear weapon on a long-range rocket.