Posted on 10/24/2014 2:09:25 PM PDT by KingofZion
A top U.S. commander said Friday that North Korea likely has the capability to produce a nuclear warhead that could be mounted on a rocket, putting its wherewithal to build a nuclear missile within closer reach.
North Korea has struggled for years in its attempts to develop nuclear warheads and long-range missiles, as well as with the steep technical challenges of combining warhead...
But the secretive dictatorship apparently has moved a significant step closer, according to Pentagon officials. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon on Friday, Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti, commander of U.S. forces on the Korean peninsula, said North Korea now is capable of building a miniaturized nuclear warhead, a step needed to complete development of a nuclear-tipped missile.
Gen. Scaparrotti said the U.S. hasn’t seen North Korea test a miniaturized nuclear weapon, but that it likely has the capability to build one.
Such nuclear warheads would be small enough to fit on a ballistic missile and would be a major improvement to Pyongyang’s weapons technology. Gen. Scaparrotti said he believed North Korea also had developed a launcher that could carry an ICBM with a miniaturized warhead. *** If North Korea has a launcher as well as a functioning, long-range missile and a miniaturized nuclear warhead, the combined components would significantly increase its capabilities. But because the technology is so sophisticated, it would be hard for the North Koreans to use the system effectively without exhaustively testing it first.
Intelligence assessments of North Korea’s capabilities have fluctuated recently, and there were reports last year that Pyongyang had developed miniaturization capabilities.
Not all intelligence agencies agreed with the assessment at the time, however, and Gen. Scaparrotti is seen as a voice of authority within the U.S. defense establishment when it comes to matters involving security in the Asian region.
(Excerpt) Read more at online.wsj.com ...
It’s called “miniaturization” and since Pakistan has that capability and their weapons program is from Pakistan....
But because the technology is so sophisticated, it would be hard for the North Koreans to use the system effectively without exhaustively testing it first.
Say they make 100 of them and only fifty work, do you
think they will really care?
The Capital of South Korea is how far from the DMZ?
Wouldn’t take much of a missle to get there.
“Should have nuked this country decades ago. If you do not nip it in the bud it comes back to bite you.”
Earlier on, we should have let Gen. Douglas MacArthur drive the NORKs into China and reunified the country back in 1950! Another useless RAT, Harry Truman, fired MacArthur instead. The only notable thing ole Harry did was get pissed off at the press for being critical of his daughter’s piano playing. He’s right behind Jimmah Cahata, on the country’s list of worthless presidents at #3.
MacArthur was right, another democrat president wrong.
We could not nuke a country that has China and Russia as protectors. Remember that during the Korean hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops and Russian air force pilots were fighting for the North
The only reason NK even exists is because we were just tired.
God, these Pentagon types are always -so far- ahead of everything. I can barely keep up with them!/
And yes, it’s disgusting to let this go on so long. And it quite literally is like Auschwitz is in operation, and we decide to trade with them. In the modern warfare era, North Korea could be wiped out quickly. All that needs to happen is China’s cooperation/agreement. Somebody should be busily working on that.
> “Pentagon Believes North Korea Has Made Advance in Nuclear Weapons”
Impossible. Self-appointed emissary Jimmy Carter saw to it 15 years ago that it could never happen.
And Madeline sang....”We could have danced all night...”
LOL!
“We could not nuke a country that has China and Russia as protectors. Remember that during the Korean hundreds of thousands of Chinese troops and Russian air force pilots were fighting for the North”
You responded to the wrong guy Geron. I was saying that we should have let MacArthur using conventional weapons drive the Norks across the Yalu River into China when he was in the process of so doing. Truman was just another little man in a job that was too big for him.
You are correct. If that had happened, I think the Chinese and Russians would have said “This is not worth that crap”
Of course there is collaboration and it wouldn’t surprise me for there to be a Russian hand on the mix.
In Harry’s defense.....he did have the stones to order the nuking of Japan and prevent a bloodbath by having to send our troops to attack the Japanese homeland to settle their hash. But after that he went downhill.
I think the job went to his head and he developed “King Saul-itis”. King Saul couldn’t stand David getting accolades for military victories. After the war Harry saw how MacArthur brought the Japanese gubmint into line, instituted a representative gubmint and knocked that Bushido bull$h!t out of their heads. And when Mac started calling the shots in Korea, Harry’s ego couldn’t take it any more.
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