South Korea will consider launching a preemptive strike against North Korea should it detect signs that the communist state will use its nuclear weaponry during wartime, said Jung Seung-jo, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Speaking to the National Assembly’s national defense committee on Monday, Jung said that the new missile guidelines agreed between Korea and the U.S. will give the country more “flexibility” in countering threats from the North.

He added that he is satisfied with the outcome of the missile talks between the two allies.

South Korea has the technology to improve its missile defense system, and plans to strategically adjust its existing short-range ballistic missiles to make them ready in line with the new guidelines.

South Korea has strengthened its defense posture against North Korea since the North’s sinking of a South Korean warship in March 2010 and its artillery attack on a border island in November that year.

By Park Hyong-ki (hkp@heraldcorp.com)