The South Korean military succeeded last month in test-firing a new ballistic missile with a range of 500 km, enough to strike any military target in North Korea. South Korea plans to deploy it next year.

The development came after Seoul and Washington agreed in October 2012 to revise their bilateral pact to allow the South to develop ballistic missiles with a range of up to 800 kilometers, up from the previous 300 km.

Seoul’s Defense Ministry revealed the test result last Friday, as security concerns here surged due to the discovery of North Korean drones and persistent missile and nuclear threats from Pyongyang.

On Saturday, North Korea blasted Seoul for the missile test. Seoul will no longer be justified in blaming Pyongyang for launching rockets, the North Korean Army’s Strategic Force said in a statement carried by the state Korean Central News Agency.