North Korea’s missiles are no longer a punchline

April 24, 2015

MarketWatch:

Until recently, the reliability of North Korea’s missiles was so sketchy that the country’s arsenal had little use other than to serve as a punchline. But it appears that within the past few years, the country has made significant strides and may now have the capability to hit the U.S. mainland with a nuclear-enabled intercontinental ballistic missile.

North Korea is suspected of having the technology to miniaturize a nuclear weapon to arm its KN-08 long-range missile, Army Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti told the Senate Armed Services Committee last week, according to Military.com, a website specializing in military affairs.

Scaparrotti, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, also said the U.S. military should assume that the missiles have sufficient range to target the U.S., echoing Admiral William Gortney’s words from earlier this month.

“Our assessment is that they have the ability to put a nuclear weapon on a KN-08 and shoot it at the homeland,” Gortney, commander of the U.S. Northern Command, told reporters…

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