North Korea now making missile-ready nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts say

WaPo ^ | 8-8-17 | By Joby Warrick, Ellen Nakashima and Anna Fifield

[Red Badger]

North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in a confidential assessment.

The new analysis completed last month by the Defense Intelligence Agency comes on the heels of another intelligence assessment that sharply raises the official estimate for the total number of bombs in the communist country’s atomic arsenal. The U.S. calculated last month that up to 60 nuclear weapons are now controlled by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Some independent experts believe the number of bombs is much smaller.

The findings are likely to deepen concerns about an evolving North Korean military threat that appears to be advancing far more rapidly than many experts had predicted. U.S. officials last month concluded that Pyongyang is also outpacing expectations in its effort to build an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking cities on the American mainland.

[Paladin2]

A fair amount of intelligence and planning would be required to have a high confidence of accomplishing that.

I’d hope that we are there, but after Clintoon and 0bama, along with Trump not having cleared the IC and Pentagon portions of the Swamp I’m not so sure....

i’d hope tha we are there

[Pelham]

A lot more of that Pentagon swamp has been cleared than our conspiracy theory pals know.

[chuckr]

Neville Chamberlain expressed the same ideas you have - was war with Hitler inevitable? Neville’s famous statement “Peace In Our Time” rings down through history as the single most folly ever with more people killed in WWII than all known wars combined - if Europe and USA had stood up to Hitler and Hirohito before the outbreak of hostilities, it would not have been necessary to fire bomb German cities and drop two atom bombs on Japan

[dfwgator]

Chamberlain knew war was inevitable when he went to Munich. He also knew at the time Britain was not ready for war, as too many Brits were a bit gun-shy after WWI.

But he made damn sure once he got back from Munich that Britain would be ready in a few years.

[chuckr]

It was Winston Churchill who emerged after Dunkirk and rallied the British against Hitler - Chamberlain was a fool

[chuckr]

Chamberlain was British prime minister between 1937 and 1940, and is closely associated with the policy of appeasement towards Nazi Germany.

[Strac6]

Why would anyone think they haven’t already done so?

I was “familiarized” with the W82 155mm arty round in 1981. That was 36 years ago. It was 6 inches in diameter and weighed less then 100 pounds.

I could muscle that into my carry on luggage for any commercial airline flight.

Pyongyang > Beijing > Tehran 14 hours in first class comfort for < $1400.

[Iscool]

“Question One: Why haven’t we already erased this threat from the map? “ Because we haven’t before had a president willing to do it. I think we have both the means and the will at this present moment. And if we wait until NK builds a nuclear arsenal the cost of dealing with them will go up immensely.

Every democrat in the country would side with N. Korea if we made a first strike...Their claim is, 'if the U.S. can have nuclear weapons why shouldn't N. Korea have them as well'...

I've already heard this from the weasels...

[Iscool]

How long after a successful point in the development process will it be before The NORKs sell some to Iran?

Likely Iran has the same nukes...They would have gotten them from Russia or China...

[Pelham]

“Likely Iran has the same nukes...They would have gotten them from Russia or China...”

Pakistan.

This all started with AQ Khan and the development of the Islamic Bomb back in the 1970s

[dragnet2]

And your alternative is what?

[dragnet2]

So what was your alternative? Silence?

[Architect of Avalon]

Annihilate every missile they have.

[Freedom56v2]

Where are all the Freepers who were laughing a couple months ago that this was not even a remote possibility...

[hattend]

Thanks!

[aces]

They already have I am sure, that is why Russia flew in and out of iran delivering the bombs bought with obamma money.

The game is about to be on.

our main focus is keeping Iran down, we are looking at NK in hopes of setting the stage for an advantage when at war with Iran. Israel is probably prepping and let us know..

[Grampa Dave]

"Thanks to China and the rest of NK’s neighbors. Thanks also to the Terrorist in Chief who did nothing but give the US over to our enemies for 8 years."

North Korea has the same old allies- the media and the democrat party!