US will continuously monitor N. Korea's satellite launch plan: Pentagon spokesperson

Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder takes questions during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Oct. 31 AP-Yonhap

The United States will continue to monitor North Korea's stated plan to make a third attempt to launch a military spy satellite, the Department of Defense said Tuesday, as the recalcitrant regime did not go ahead with the launch this month.

The North had said it would make a third attempt to put a military reconnaissance satellite into orbit during October following two botched launches ― in August and May. But it did not press ahead with the plan, raising questions over whether it has yet to overcome technological defects found in earlier launches.

"I am not going to go into intelligence on what we may or may not know as it relates to that. Certainly something we will continue to monitor," Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, the Pentagon spokesperson, told a press briefing.

He was asked to share the Pentagon's assessment over whether North Korea still has technical issues that it has to resolve for a successful launch.

Ryder reiterated America's "extended deterrence" commitment to South Korea and Japan amid concerns that the escalating war between Israel and the Hamas militant group and Russia's war in Ukraine could affect Washington's efforts to focus on security in the Indo-Pacific region.

Extended deterrence refers to the U.S.' commitment to mobilizing the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its allies.

"We've been very clear in terms of our commitment to extended deterrence, working very closely with our Republic of Korea allies or Japanese allies and others in the region to deter and we continue to stay very focused on that," he said.

"We will continue to closely to make sure that we have the forces in theater to be able to prevent any type of issue," he added.

The double conflicts are a source of concern for U.S. allies in East Asia amid North Korea's evolving nuclear and military threats and China's increasing assertiveness.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has said that the U.S. can handle crises in "multiple theaters" as he highlighted that the U.S. can "walk and chew gum at the same time."

Meanwhile, Ryder announced the Pentagon's decision to deploy an additional 300 troops to the U.S. Central Command region from home stations in the continental U.S. to support regional deterrence efforts and bolster U.S. force protection capabilities. (Yonhap)