North Korea Missile Threat: Pentagon report: NKorea moving toward nuke missile, North Korea "will move closer" to its announced goal of being able to strike the U.S. with a nuclear-armed missile if it keeps investing in tests of nuclear and missile technology, the Pentagon said Thursday in a report to Congress.
The unclassified version of the report, which was required by a 2012 law, offered no estimate of when North Korea might achieve that capability. It said the pace of progress will depend in part on how many resources are invested.
The report fits an established U.S. intelligence picture of North Korea making an enormous effort to become a nuclear power and of an economically poor country directing a disproportionate amount of resources to its military.
Much about North Korea is a mystery to Western intelligence agencies, including the intentions of its leader, Kim Jong Un, who came to power after his father, Kim Jong Il, died in December 2011. The Pentagon report said the U.S. foresees little change in North Korea's key strategic aims, which it said to include using "coercive diplomacy" to compel acceptance of its security interests, as well as developing a nuclear arsenal and undermining of the U.S.-South Korean alliance.
"We anticipate these strategic goals will be consistent under North Korea's new leader, Kim Jong Un," it said.
U.S. intelligence agencies are not fully in agreement on how far North Korea has advanced in its effort to make a nuclear weapon small enough to fit atop a ballistic missile. In April, a U.S. congressman disclosed that the Defense Intelligence Agency believes with "moderate confidence" that the North could deliver a nuclear weapon by ballistic missile but with "low reliability." The DIA assessment did not mention the potential range of such a strike.
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, the top U.S. intelligence official, said shortly after the DIA assessment was made public that its conclusion was not shared by other intelligence agencies. Clapper said North Korea has made progress but has not "fully developed, tested or demonstrated the full range of capabilities necessary for a nuclear-armed missile."
In its report Thursday, the Pentagon made no mention of the DIA report.
The Pentagon asserted that North Korea wants to leverage the perception that it poses a nuclear threat in order to counter technologically superior forces. South Korea, which does not have nuclear weapons, has a modern military that benefits greatly from a close alliance with the U.S. There are about 28,500 American troops based in the South.
The Pentagon report noted that North Korea has recently showcased its advances in missile technology, including an April 2012 parading of a new road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile that the Pentagon says has not been flight tested.
"These advances in ballistic missile delivery systems, coupled with developments in nuclear technology ... are in line with North Korea's stated objective of being able to strike the U.S. homeland," the report said.
After a February 2013 nuclear test, North Korea made what the Pentagon called "authoritative public announcements" of its desire to field nuclear-armed missiles with sufficient range to attack targets in the United States.
.
North Korea Missile Threat: Pentagon report: NKorea moving toward nuke missile
on Thursday, May 2, 2013
Labels:
news
.
Popular Posts
-
Jay-Z's foray into sports management has already hit a snag -- the NFL is investigating whether the rap superstar violated league ...
-
Body Of Mom Found In Trunk, A mother has been found shot dead in the trunk of her car four days after her baby was abandoned in an apartm...
-
JENNIFER Lopez says her daughter Emme is a budding pop superstar!
-
Critics Slam Kim Kardashian, She makes her big screen debut in Tyler Perry's new movie Temptation: Confessions Of A Marriage Counselor. ...
-
Marine Jailed In Mexico, The mother of a former U.S. Marine jailed in a notoriously violent corner of northern Mexico said on Monday that...
-
Lingerie Football Rant, So, it would appear that Chris Michaelson, head coach of the Seattle Mist team in the Legends Football League (form...
-
Little-Known Spouses, Little known celebrity spouses, Celebrity marriages and divorces are headline news in entertainment magazines an...
-
CEO Sues Over Firing, The former CEO of Tuesday Morning has filed a discrimination lawsuit against the discount retailer, saying she was fi...
-
Grandma Convicted Grandson, A 75-year-old woman was convicted of second-degree murder for killing her teenage grandson last spring in her De...
-
Clerk Whipped Boy Video -A 39-year-old store clerk in George is facing charges after she whipped an 8-year-old boy with a belt at least...