S Korean Defense Minister: Number of DPRK missiles increased

SEOUL, March 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's Defense Minister said Wednesday that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is believed to possess some 1,000 missiles and is pursuing a highly enriched uranium (HEU) program, local media reported.

Kim Tae-young told a forum held in Seoul earlier in the day that some 1,000 missiles include intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBM) and shorter-range Scud and Rodong missiles, according to Yonhap News Agency.

The estimation shows an increase of 200 missiles from an earlier projection by South Korean and American intelligence authorities that Pyongyang possessed some 800 missiles as of 2008, according to Yonhap.

The DPRK is believed to have stored 30 to 40 kilograms of plutonium and is proceeding with the HEU program, Kim reportedly told a forum. The six-party nuclear disarmament talks are currently stalled after Pyongyang in April 2009 quit the talks over its denuclearization in protest of the U.N. condemnation of its missile tests.