군 "北 사거리 두 미사일 다 600km로 정정, 9.19합의 명백한 위반 아냐"<br /><br />Meanwhile, the South Korean military has releaseed more details about North Korea's recent missile launch... following the Blue House National Security Council officially verifiying them as "ballistic."<br />Kim Ji-yeon has more.<br />South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Friday... that a detailed assessment of North Korea's Thursday launch .. showed the two missiles both flew around 600 kilometers... different from its initial estimate of around 430 and 690 kilometers.<br />These figures are still provisional and that a final assessment will be carried out.<br />Based on analysis jointly conducted with the U.S... an official from the Joint Chiefs of Staff also confirmed that characteristics of the missiles were similar to Russia's Iskander-class ballistic missile system... but that it seems to be a new version... in which they're currently scrutinizing.<br />Normally, Iskander-class missiles have a complicated flying trajectory, making it difficult to collect data to shoot them down with anti-missile systems.<br />The detailed analysis was released a day apart from its initial brief.<br />The official said the military's continued analyses based on projectiles shot by the North in May have helped speed up the assessment for Thursday's launch.<br />The official refuted suspicions the military were not able to spot the recent missiles... adding the fact that they're releasing data is because it was able to detect them.<br />The official added the gap in its estimates were mainly due to the missiles' flight trajectory... flying in a northeasterly direction from North Korea to the East Sea... but stressed any missile flying from North Korea in a southerly direction would have been detected with no glitch.<br />The official also said the military is capable of detecting missiles launched using a transporter erector launcher... but said it doesn't use all of its detection equipment and assets in monitoring movements in the North.<br />The official also said the military is currently fully capable of intercepting the latest missile launches with the existing anti-missile system, the Patriot.<br />The official said the military see Thursday's missiles as a test-fire stage of missile development... and that they are not fully operational.<br />Seoul's defense ministry reiterated its previous stance that although missiles have been officially verified as "ballistic," it does NOT see them as a direct violation of the inter-Korean Comprehensive Military Agreement... but that they do go against the spirit of said agreement in lowering tensions on the Peninsula.<br />Kim Ji-yeon, Arirang News.<br />
