N. Korean Mobile Ballistic Missile Called Top Threat by U.S.
North Korea continues to develop a mobile intercontinental ballistic missile that “would likely be capable of reaching much of the continental United States,” the Pentagon said in a new report to Congress on the secretive regime’s military capabilities.
The KN-08 missile would have an estimated range of more than 3,400 miles (5,500 kilometers), and North Korea already has six “road-mobile” launchers for it, according to the annual report delivered to congressional committees Friday and obtained by Bloomberg News. A mobile missile can be harder to track than a silo-based weapon, although the threat from the KN-08 depends on whether it’s “successfully designed and developed,” the Defense Department cautioned.
The new report, reaffirming a judgment about the KN-08 made by the Pentagon in 2013, arrives amid rising tensions after North Korea conducted a nuclear test on Jan. 6 and launched a long-range rocket on Feb. 7. South Korea and the U.S. have said they will begin talks about deploying an American ballistic missile interceptor system known as Thaad on the Korean peninsula.
In the U.S., the House sent legislation to President Barack Obama on Friday authorizing new sanctions against North Korea. The measure, H.R. 757, would impose sanctions against individuals, companies and foreign governments that contribute to North Korea’s nuclear program and ballistic missile development. It also would penalize those who send luxury goods enjoyed by the regime’s elite or aid in its censorship or human rights abuses.
Other sections of the Defense Department report said that North Korea:
Is pursuing the capability to launch ballistic missiles from submarines, reflecting “the regime’s commitment to diversifying its missile force.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-12/north-korea-s-mobile-ballistic-missile-called-top-threat-by-u-s
