ROK deploys missile capable of striking DPRK

SEOUL - Republic of Korea (ROK) has deployed a cruise missile that can strike the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), the defense ministry here said Thursday, a week after its northern neighbor's botched rocket launch.

The cruise missile with an estimated range of more than 1,000 kilometers can "strike anywhere" in the DPRK, a ministry official reportedly said during a briefing.  

"The military will unrelentingly punish North Korea (DPRK) if it attempts another reckless provocation," the official was quoted as saying by Yonhap News Agency.

The deployment is viewed as a response to rising cross-border tensions following Pyongyang's failed rocket launch, which Seoul and Washington called a long-range missile test in disguise.

The DPRK is believed to be in possession of more than 800 ballistic missiles and some 1,000 missiles of various ranges.

It has 3,000-kilometer-range intermediate-range ballistic missiles that can strike the entire Korean peninsula as well as US military installations in Japan and Guam, according to ROK's latest defense white paper.