South Korea is trying to walk back a US general's alarming assessment of North Korea's nuclear capabilities
KCNA/Reuters
Adm. Bill Gortney told reporters at a Pentagon news conference on April 7 that Pyongyang had the capability to place miniaturized nuclear warheads on its latest KN-08 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Pyongyang has "the ability to put a nuclear weapon on a KN-08 and shoot it at the homeland," Gortney said.
But South Korean Vice Defense Minister Baek Seung-joo countered at an April 13th press conference that Gortney's remarks were "not made with a thorough assessment of North Korea's capabilities."
According to the Wall Street Journal, Seoul's official position is that while North Korea has made strides towards miniaturization, the north has so far failed to produce a nuclear warhead small enough to be mounted on a missile. South Korea has also raised the question of whether the KN-08 is actually functional, given that North Korea has yet to flight-test the missile.
Still, Gortney did say on April 7 that the US opts for a more cautious assessment of North Korea's capabilities and is "prudent" in its deicion-making when it comes nuclear weapons. So US policy may be thinking in terms of nuclear miniaturization and a possible ICBM capability as a precaution, even if there's no "smoking gun" to prove that North Korea currently has either technology.
This position was repeated by Lt. Col. Jeff Pool, a Pentagon spokesman, who told the WSJ that "given the consequences of getting it wrong, it is prudent for a military planner to plan for the worst."
North Korea experts John Schilling and Henry Kan estimate that the KN-08 would have a maximum range of 5,600 miles, making the missile capable of hitting the West Coast of the continental US. The weapon, however, is unlikely to have the accuracy required for precision targeting of large US cities.
- I'm an interior designer. Here are 10 things in your living room you should get rid of.
- Higher-paid employees looking for work are having a tough time, and it could be a sign of a shift in the workplace
- A software engineer shares the résumé he's used since college that got him a $500,000 job at Meta — plus offers at TikTok and LinkedIn
- 7 scenic Indian villages perfect for May escapes
- Paneer snacks you can prepare in 30 minutes
- Markets crash: Investors' wealth erodes by ₹2.25 lakh crore
- Stay healthy and hydrated: 10 immunity-boosting fruit-based lemonades
- Here’s what you can do to recover after eating oily food
- Nothing Phone (2a) blue edition launched
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market