Pentagon Says North Korea Bent on Developing Missile That Can Reach U.S. Report comes after recent rocket launch and as America and its regional allies consider ways to confront a more-menacing Pyongyang By Gordon Lubold
http://www.wsj.com/articles/pentagon-says-north-korea-bent-on-developing-missile-that-can-reach-u-s-1455318851
WASHINGTON—North Korea remains committed to developing a long-range, nuclear-armed missile that could pose a threat to the U.S., a Pentagon report released on Friday said.
That conclusion, in a report required by Congress every other year, underscores the security concern posed by the country less than a week after its leader Kim Jong Un test-fired a Taopodong-2 long-range rocket.
But it is North Korea’s KN08 intercontinental ballistic missile, known as the Hwasong-13, that could have the capability to pose a threat to the U.S., according to the assessment.
“If successfully designed and developed, the KN08 likely would be capable of reaching much of the continental United States, assuming the missiles displayed are generally representative of missiles that will be fielded,” the report said. It noted the complexity of the system and said it would require multiple flight tests for the missile to be effective.
North Korea also continues to develop another weapon, the TD-2, which also could reach the continental U.S. if it were configured as an intercontinental ballistic missile, the report said. READ THE ENTIRE COLUMN AT THE SITE
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