More Warnings On North Korea's ICBM Missile Threat

A North Korean soldier films military vehicles carrying missiles during a parade to commemorate the 65th anniversary of founding of the Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang October 10, 2010. REUTERS-Petar Kujundzic

Report: North Korea's ICBM Prototypes Getting 'Scary Good' -- Voice of America

A top research group says prototype ballistic missiles seen at recent North Korean military parades may be more advanced than earlier believed, and may even be sophisticated enough to threaten the U.S. west coast.

Many Western analysts dismissed the KN-08 missiles as primitive, non-operational mockups when they appeared in photos at Pyongyang military parades in April 2012 and again in July of this year, but the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said Tuesday that the missiles, even if fakes, appear to be getting more advanced, and have reached the point of being what it called "scary good."

The institute's report said the missile mockups appear to show North Korea can assemble components and technologies "good enough to produce missiles with theoretical ranges from 5,500 to over 11,000 kilometers." That would easily be far enough for North Korea to make good on its threats of being able to strike the U.S. mainland with a nuclear warhead.

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More News On North Korea's ICBM Missile Program

US Pacific commander plans for NKorea missile threat -- Washington Post/AP
N. Korea progressing on ICBM to strike US: think-tank -- Global Post/AFP
North Korea Closer on Intercontinental Missile Design, Blog Says -- Bloomberg Businessweek
North Korea 'Making Progress' on Ballistic and Electromagnetic Weapons -- IBTimes
North Korea may be closer to developing an intercontinental ballistic missile, say experts -- Global Post