Korea: US war footing at highest level in 50 years

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, 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 the U.S. military and its allies would be ready if North Korea tried to strike.
“We’re ready,” Locklear said.
He 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 the United States and South Korean civilian and military personnel.
Stratrisk