N. Korea says missiles can strike US mainland

SEOUL (AFP) - North Korea said on Tuesday it possessed "strategic rocket forces" capable of striking the United States (US) mainland, as it responded to a new US-South Korean deal to extend the range of the South's missile systems.

In a series of bulletins released on the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the spokesman of the National Defense Commission also said Pyongyang was ready to match any enemy, "nuclear for nuclear, missile for missile".

The warnings came two days after South Korea announced an agreement with the United States to almost triple the range of its missiles to cover the whole of North Korea.

"We are not concealing the fact that (North Korea's) revolutionary military, including strategic rocket forces, has placed not only South Korean enemy forces and US forces in the Korean peninsula but also Japan, Guam and even the US mainland within its target range," the spokesman said.