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| Adm Locklear (Wiki Info) |
By RICK MAZE
The chief of the U.S. Pacific Command said Tuesday that plans to defend South Korea from its neighbor to the north will consider a variety of options, all aimed at avoiding “unnecessary escalation.”
“I am satisfied we are ready today,” Navy Adm. Samuel Locklear told the Senate Armed Services Committee as lawmakers pressed him to describe preparations taken in response to increasingly belligerent words and actions from North Korea.
The U.S. has the capability to shoot down any missile fired by North Korea. But whether a missile should be shot down depends on where it is aimed, Locklear said. “We should have a sense of where it is aimed. If we don’t, it shouldn’t take us long to know where it is going.”
He did not describe in detail a possible response if North Korea launches an attack across its border, or fires a long-range missile at South Korea or elsewhere, but he said that after some adjustments, such as placing an anti-missile battery in the region and deploying U.S. Navy ships, he believes preparations have been made to adequately defend the area.
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