Pentagon Says North Korea Close to Building Capacity for U.S. Nuclear Strike

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A Pentagon report made to the Congress on Thursday observed that North Korea’s Taepodong-2 missile was close to developing capabilities to deliver a nuclear payload to mainland U.S. The report mentioned that the Taepodong-2 can be configured as an intercontinental ballistic missile taking North Korea closer to actualizing its declared threat of hitting mainland U.S. with atomic weapons.

The Pentagon report, which is part of the annual report made to the Congress under law, also mentioned North Korea’s success in launching a multi-stage rocket delivering a satellite into space orbit in December. The advance is significant in powering long-range ballistic missile capability of North Korea.

The report mentioned, “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.”

  

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Pentagon authorities think that the development of missile power capable to launch a satellite, coupled with a successful nuclear detonation in February, makes North Korea capable of further nuclear tests at any time.

Elaborating on the situation and on North Korea’s goal to attack the U.S. mainland with nuclear weapons, the report observed, “North Korea will move closer to this goal, as well as increase the threat it poses to U.S. forces and allies in the region, if it continues testing and devoting scarce regime resources to these programs.”

In fact, the annual Pentagon report to the Congress sees North Korea as one of the biggest threats to U.S. and the stability of the world given its history of selling weapons technology to others and readiness to “undertake provocative and destabilizing behavior.”

At present, the United States continues to reject the demands of North Korea to recognize it as a nuclear-armed state in the UN.