North Korea claims progress in developing missile to hit U.S.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
A man passes by a TV screen showing North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a news program at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea today.
SEOUL, South Korea >> North Korea said today that it had successfully conducted a high-powered, solid-fuel rocket engine test, which if confirmed would be a major step forward in boosting its missile attack capability against South Korea and the United States.
North Korea is known to use liquid propellants for its main ballistic missiles that target South Korea, U.S. bases in the Asia-Pacific region and the American mainland.
Liquid-fuel missiles need to be re-fueled each time before they are launched, so it is relatively difficult to use them on short notice. The use of solid propellants, already loaded inside missiles, reduces launch preparation time and increases the mobility of the weapons, making it harder to detect signs before they are launched.
The North’s state media said that leader Kim Jong Un expressed delight after observing the successful testing of a “large-output solid fuel rocket engine,” which made an “earth-shaking” sound as it spit out a large beam of fire.
Kim said that the test will enhance a missile capability that will “mercilessly” strike enemies, an apparent reference to South Korea and the United States.
It is not possible to independently confirm the North’s statement or other high-profile announcements from the secretive, tightly controlled country.
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South Korea’s Defense Ministry said Thursday it needs to analyze the statement.
The North’s test appears intended to use solid propellants for missiles with a range of 400-500 kilometers (250-310 miles) that can place entire South Korea in its striking range, and Pyongyang will likely try to do the same on medium- and long-range missiles, according to analyst Chae Yeon-seok at South Korea’s state-run Korea Aerospace Research Institute. Chae said the North already uses solid propellants for some short-range missiles.
The North’s announcement came as it was angrily responding to ongoing annual South Korea-U.S. military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal. The drills are the biggest, and come after North Korea conducted its fifth nuclear test and launched a long-range rocket earlier this year.
North Korea fired five short-range projectiles off its east coast on Monday, three days after it launched its first medium-range ballistic missile into the sea since early 2014, according to Seoul officials.
Earlier this week, North Korea said it was ready to launch artillery bombardment to “instantly destroy” South Korea’s presidential palace. In response, South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Thursday ordered a heightened security posture to cope with a potential North Korean provocation.
In an apparent effort to prove its claims of boosted nuclear capability, North Korea has also disclosed purported mock-up of a nuclear warhead and claimed to have developed a re-entry vehicle for a missile that is needed to return warhead to the atmosphere from space so it could hit its intended target.
The re-entry vehicle is considered one of the last major technologies North Korea must master to develop long-range missiles equipped with nuclear weapons capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
9 responses to “North Korea claims progress in developing missile to hit U.S.”
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Seems that the North Koreans haven’t thought through the repercussions of launching a nuclear attack. Do they truly believe that there would be no retaliatory response which would ultimately result in the elimination of their regime? Fools.
There won’t be any repercussion as long as Obama is in office, and the North Koreans know it. If Hillary gets in, she’ll probably reveal our strategy to them through her e-mail system. If Trump gets in, he’ll probably blow up North Korea. It’s spooky no matter how you look at it with a loose nut running that country north of the DMZ.
Trump has said he would open up negotiations with the Chinese, who have the ability to stop North Korea.
He claims he can make a deal with them, that would include this.
Whether he can do this is unproven, but it is very clear that Obama is not capable of doing this, and by extension Hillary.
Trump will be a colossal failure at that. Even now the Chinese cannot get the fat man to do what they want. He’s a pain in their side now and they refuse to change course.
The US simply cannot apply pressure on China to get them to apply pressure on North Korea because the Chinese need the Kim Dynasty in power to prevent a mass exodus of refugees into Manchuria. Short of sending a trillion dollars over to China, nothing we can do will change this as long as North Korea is a mess itself. Hence why China for years has been trying (and failing) to get North Korea to reform its economy so that the refugee problem decreases. Trump likely does not understand this (nor do many who post on SA’s forum).
Americans need to get through their thick skulls that we cannot solve everything, regardless of who is in the White House and interfering often makes it worse.
All Trump supporters, please read the following transcript from the Post. I personally think Trump is a man who has certainly has had a successful career and is a way great self marketer. But, a president, no. This interview shows how he has no real knowledge of any current events, and continually goes off on tangents to try and hide that fact.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/03/21/a-transcript-of-donald-trumps-meeting-with-the-washington-post-editorial-board/
North Korea understands, but what koolau doesn’t understand (and a great many people here as well), is that a lot of the bluster that nations put forth is not meant for foreign consumption, but domestic propaganda. Part of the problem with many Americans is that they are wildly egocentric and cannot step into anyone else’s shoes to view the world from their perspective and their values. Russia is a good example of this. Lots of people view Russia’s engagement in Syria has defending Assad, it’s not. It’s showing that Russia, despite its bad economy is still a world power. North Korea’s nuclear weapons program is designed not for foreign usage but to show that North Korea can play on the world stage with the big boys. Those nuclear weapons will never get used unless the Kim Dynasty is on the verge of being removed. The last thing that the fat man in North Korea, like his father, wants to do is commit suicide and using a nuclear weapon ensures they will die. Is there a real risk of disintegration of the North Korean state and the weapons being up for grabs? Absolutely. Same like it was for Pakistan, but North Korea has no foreign incentive to actually use a weapon but considerable domestic incentive to keep building the program.
agree…we need to keep a cool head. North Korea is dangerous but their bluster is mainly for domestic consumption. It keeps North Koreans afraid of invasion and in line. It is all very sad.
Indeed. The regime plays up that it is constantly at risk of a huge foreign invasion and therefore needs the nuclear weapons to defend it from the evil capitalist pig dogs. It is really quite frightening that many Americans cannot figure out our own clear propaganda much less the propaganda from foreign countries. So many Americans are so wildly egocentric that they think everything other nations do is for their consumption.
Part of why Raul Castro got so upset when Andrea Mitchell (who is also Alan Greenspan’s wife), asked him questions about human rights is because the Castro regime was going to use the video as domestic propaganda that they are stronger than the Yanquis. Having Obama basically make him answer that question destroyed that. Castro doesn’t care about what the US population thinks, he’s using it for his own domestic purposes. A basic lesson of political science 101 is asking first is this targeting the domestic audience or the foreign? FAR too many people simply don’t even get to that step in what amounts fo their analysis.
So a giant metal slingshot with 10,000 rubber bands?