Defense Minister Shin Won-sik speaks during a parliamentary defense committee meeting held at the National Assembly, in Seoul, Dec. 21. Yonhap

South Korea's defense chief said Thursday that North Korea's recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) demonstrated its flight capability but its atmospheric reentry technology has not yet been verified.

Defense Minister Shin Won-sik made the assessment after the North on Monday test-fired the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 ICBM at a lofted angle, which is considered to be capable of striking the U.S. territories if launched at a standard angle.

It was the North's fifth ICBM launch this year and the third Hwasong-18 following two tests in April and July.

"North Korea succeeded in flying a missile a long distance and developing a solid fuel missile, but it has not yet been verified whether it is capable of re-entering the atmosphere and accurately striking a target," Shin said during a parliamentary session.

"Although its multiple warhead technology has not yet been accurately verified, North Korea is believed to be moving in that direction," he added.

In response to the North's rising threats, Shin said he will "expedite" nuclear deterrence efforts with Washington to make their agreements in the bilateral Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) "irreversible" regardless of the results of next year's U.S. presidential election.

During the second session of the NCG last week, South Korea and the U.S. agreed to complete the establishment of guidelines on a shared nuclear strategy by mid-2024 and conduct joint military exercises simulating nuclear attacks from the North, drawing protests from North Korea.

Concerns have risen that Pyongyang may pursue nuclear disarmament talks with Washington using its status as a nuclear power if former U.S. President Donald Trump is elected for a second term in the November 2024 election.

"If North Korea freezes or curtails its nuclear program, it will inevitably demand the dismantlement of the South Korea-U.S. alliance," he said. "If North Korea takes actions without preconditions, there is no reason we would not welcome it."

When asked whether South Korea should prepare its own nuclear weapons program to counter the North's evolving threats, Shin ruled out the option that could have negative implications on the alliance with the U.S.

"South Korea's independent nuclear armament is based on the assumption that the South Korea-U.S. alliance has been dismantled, so it is more realistic way to strengthen the extended deterrence with the U.S," he said.

North Korea conducted its sixth and last nuclear test in September 2017, and enshrined its nuclear power status in its constitution in September. Nuclear negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang remain stalled since the 2019 Hanoi summit between Kim and then U.S. President Donald Trump ended without a deal. (Yonhap)

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