Story highlights Analyst says South Korea president would want to have this option on table

South Korea has upped its rhetoric against Pyongyang since 5th nuke test

Seoul (CNN) South Korea has elite troops on standby ready to assassinate Kim Jong Un if the country feels threatened by North Korean nuclear weapons, the country's defense minister revealed this week.

Asked in parliament Wednesday if there was a special forces unit already assembled that could eliminate North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, Han Min-koo said: "Yes, we do have such a plan. "

"South Korea has a general idea and plan to use precision missile capabilities to target the enemy's facilities in major areas as well as eliminating the enemy's leadership," he added.

Kim Jong Un inspects Farm No. 1116 in an undisclosed location in a photo released September 13, 2016.

It has long been suspected that such a plan was in place but the minister's candid answer surprised some.

"A president would want to have the option," says Daniel Pinkston of Troy University. "... Not presenting that to the president, not training for it and having that capability would be a mistake."