North Korea retains 1,000 ballistic missiles, report says

SEOUL, July 19 (UPI) -- North Korea is believed to retain 1,000 ballistic missiles in its arsenal and the U.S. anti-missile defense system THAAD may not guarantee the interception of incoming missiles targeting Seoul, according to critics.

That's where the Patriot Advanced Capability interceptor or PAC-3 comes in, a recent South Korean report stated.

Defense measures in South Korea do not stop at THAAD, because the country and its allies need a combination of anti-missile defense systems in order to target incoming missiles, according to Yonhap's findings.

North Korea's missiles cover a variety of distances, as evidenced by the recent launch of three short-range missiles early Tuesday that places all of South Korea within striking distance, according to Seoul's joint chiefs of staff.

About 400 of all North Korean missiles are believed to be short-range Scuds that can travel between 200 and 600 miles. Another 300 can be classified as the intermediate-range Rodong missiles capable of traveling about 2,000 miles and the rest are believed to be intercontinental ballistic missiles, including the KN-08, Yonhap reported.

Some of the Scuds are reportedly located about 60 miles north of the demilitarized zone, and the Rodong is capable of striking Japan, or if launched from a higher angle, able to target South Korean territory.

The missiles launched early Tuesday flew for about 310-370 miles, according to Seoul.