Short-range missiles recently test-fired by North Korea are "a quantum leap forward" from the country's previous missile capabilities, the commander of US troops in South Korea has said. Speaking to the US House of Representatives' Armed Services Committee on Thursday, General Burwell Bell said the solid fuel missiles tested were more reliable and easier to move around than anything the North has produced before. Solid fuel missiles are also more durable and dramatically more accurate than liquid fuel missiles, he said.US and South Korean officials said North Korea test-fired two short-range missiles on Wednesday, unsettling its Asian neighbors. The tests came came during a stalemate in six-country talks aimed at ending North Korea's nuclear weapons programmes. In addition, Bell said, the North was developing longer-range missiles with ranges "far beyond any requirement that they have for defence".
He said that with Pyongyang ready and willing to sell its missile technology to anyone willing to pay, there was a great concern about proliferation Bell's comments contrasted with those of Admiral William Fallon, head of the U.S. Pacific Command, who told reporters on Thursday the North's missiles could reach targets in South Korea, but not beyond. He said the North may have test-fired up to three solid fuel missiles, but he cautioned that he had not yet seen a detailed report.