North Korea readying for war, says Seoul

SEOUL, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- North Korea has set its sights on unification and is readying for war, South Korea's Ministry of Defense informed the National Assembly on Tuesday.

"After declaring 2015 the year of completing unification, North Korea has been prepared for full-scale wars," the defense ministry wrote in its annual audit report.

Those preparations have in the last year included increased missile tests and acquisition of rocket launchers, the doubling of military training exercise participants, and enhanced attack capabilities.

"South Korea has maintained a firm readiness against North Korea's limited provocations and any attempts to wage full-scale wars," the ministry told Parliament on Tuesday. "We are trying to boost security posture in capital areas to deter diverse and novel types of threats by the enemy."

The Pentagon confirmed earlier this month that the U.S. is considering deployment of a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile system to South Korea in response to provocations by the North.