South Korea conducts live-fire exercises amid tensions

South Korea conducts live-fire exercises amid tensions

South Korean’s Hyunmoo II ballistic missile is fired during an exercise at an undisclosed location in South Korea.- AP

(Vatican Radio) South Korean warships on Tuesday conducted live-fire exercises at sea, following the North's biggest-ever nuclear test.

The Korean Peninsula has been in a technical state of war since the Korean War ended in an armistice in 1953.

Tensions have risen in recent months as the North has displayed rapid improvement in its weapons capabilities, testing intercontinental ballistic missiles and a string of other missiles meant to target U.S. forces in Asia and the U.S. mainland.

South Korea said on Monday that the North appeared to be planning a future missile launch, possibly of an ICBM, to show off its claimed ability to target the United States with nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile,

The U.N. Security Council held another emergency meeting on North Korea on Monday, with U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley saying the North's actions show that leader Kim Jong Un is ``begging for war.''

``Enough is enough. War is never something the United States wants. We don't want it now. But our country's patience is not unlimited,'' Haley said.

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