‘We’re ready’ for North Korea, Locklear says

WASHINGTON » U.S. defenses could intercept a ballistic missile launched by North Korea, the top U.S. military commander in the Pacific said Tuesday as the relationship between the West and the communist government hit its lowest ebb since the end of the Korean War.

Adm. Samuel Locklear III, commander of U.S. Pacific Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that Kim Jong Un, the country’s young and still relatively untested new leader, has used the past year to consolidate his power.

The admiral said Pyong­yang’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles represents a clear threat to the United States and its allies in the region.

During an exchange with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., Locklear said the U.S. military has the capability to thwart a North Korean strike, but he said a decision on whether a missile should be intercepted should be based on where it is aimed and expected to land.

"I believe we have the ability to defend the homeland, Guam, Hawaii and defend our allies," said Locklear, who added that it wouldn’t take long to determine where a missile would strike.

Locklear concurred with McCain’s assessment that the tension between North Korea and the West was the worst since the end of the Korean War in the early 1950s. But the admiral insisted that the U.S. military and its allies would be prepared if North Korea tried to strike.

"We’re ready," Locklear said.

U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, asked Locklear whether he expects action on the part of the Chinese, either publicly or behind the scenes, to stop or reduce the level of North Korean provocations.

"Well, I think there’s been statements by both (Chinese President) Xi Jinping and by their minister, I believe, of foreign affairs in the last day or two that would indicate that they have some concerns about any disruption — continued provocations or disruptions in this part of the world, or anything that would put a potential negative situation on their border," Locklear said. "I believe these are not as direct as we would like to see here, but they are indications that the Chinese government is engaging."

Locklear, whose headquarters is at Camp Smith, said North Korea is keeping a large percentage of its combat forces along the demilitarized zone with South Korea, a position that allows the North to threaten U.S. and South Korean civilian and military personnel.

Locklear told the panel, "The continued advancement of the North’s nuclear and missile programs, its conventional force posture and its willingness to resort to asymmetric actions as a tool of coercive diplomacy creates an environment marked by the potential for miscalculation."

Increasingly bellicose rhetoric has come from Pyong­yang and its leader, with North Korea urging foreign companies and tourists to leave South Korea and warning that the countries are on the verge of a nuclear war.

At the White House, spokes­man Jay Carney brushed off the North’s declaration that nuclear war was imminent as "more unhelpful rhetoric" and part of a pattern of combative statements and behavior that Pyong­yang’s leadership has demonstrated for years. He said the U.S. was working with Seoul and Tokyo on the issue.

"It is unhelpful, it is concerning, it is provocative," Carney said.

Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., told Locklear that the North Korean government’s threats "appear to exceed its capabilities, and its use of what capabilities it has against the U.S. or our allies seems highly unlikely and would be completely contrary to the regime’s primary goal of survival."

"Nonetheless, its words and actions are not without consequences," Levin said.

The Democrat questioned the Obama administration’s decision to delay a long-scheduled operational test of an intercontinental ballistic missile amid the North Korea rhetoric.

Locklear said he agreed with the decision to delay the test.

The U.S. has moved two of the Navy’s missile defense ships closer to the Korean peninsula, and a land-based system is being deployed to the Pacific territory of Guam. The U.S. also called attention to the annual U.S.-South Korean military exercise that included a practice run over South Korea by B-2 stealth bombers.

The scope of Locklear’s responsibilities as the top officer at Pacific Command extend beyond the Korean Peninsula, and he told the committee that his command is closely watching the proliferation of submarines among countries including China and Vietnam. Locklear said there are an estimated 300 submarines being operated around the world, although he noted that no country there has an undersea force as capable as the United States’.

Both Russia and China are expected soon to deploy new ballistic missile submarines capable of threatening the United States, Locklear said. India is also expanding its submarine force, and Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and South Korea have launched modern submarines or soon will.

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Star-Advertiser reporter William Cole contributed to this report.