South Korea releases white paper on regional security

South Korea on Tuesday announced its first official assessment that North Korea's long-range missiles may reach the US mainland.

The Defense Ministry said in its biennial Defense White Paper that North Korea is estimated to have a "capability to threaten the US mainland" after five rounds of test-firing long-range missiles.

The assessment was based on the DPRK's successful launch of a Unha-3 rocket, which is believed to have a range of about 8,000 km, into orbit in December 2012. The previous test-firing failed in April that year.

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