http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ly-range-N-Korea-ICBM-2-years-US-monitor.html
North Korea 'will be able to strike San Diego with a nuclear missile in just TWO YEARS', US monitoring group warns after Kim Jong-un's latest deadly weapons test
Published: 02:20 EDT, 11 July 2017 | Updated: 08:36 EDT, 11 July 2017
Despot North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will 'likely' be able to strike San Diego with a nuclear missile in the next two years, a monitoring group has warned.
Experts believe the secretive state will soon have the ability to successfully launch a 1,102lb warhead capable of hitting the west coast after a successful weapons test last week.
The isolated, nuclear-armed state's first successful ICBM test was described by leader Kim as a gift to 'American bastards'.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) celebrates the successful test-fire of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location
The 'landmark' test of a Hwasong-14 missile was overseen by Kim last Tuesday, prompting a furious reaction from President Donald Trump.
A Hwasong-14 missile is currently estimated to have a range of 7,000 to 8,000 kilometres - enough to reach Alaska or Hawaii - aerospace engineer John Schilling wrote on the respected 38 North website, a monitoring project linked to Johns Hopkins university.
'If the Hwasong-14 is put together the way we think it is, it can probably do a bit better than that when all the bugs are worked out,' he wrote, projecting a range of 9,700 kilometres with a 500 kg warhead on board.
'The North Koreans won´t be able to achieve this performance tomorrow, but they likely will eventually,' he added.
At present it would be 'lucky to hit even a city-sized target', he said, citing limits to its re-entry technology.
This image, released by North Korean agencies on July 5, shows the missile being test launched
+4
Trump called an emergency meeting on the Fourth of July to formulate a 'measured response' to North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile test
But with 'a year or two of additional testing and development', he added, 'it will likely become a missile that can reliably deliver a single nuclear warhead to targets along the US west coast, possibly with enough accuracy to destroy soft military targets like naval bases', such as that at San Diego in California.
The launch in North Korea, which came as the United States prepared to mark its Independence Day, triggered a Twitter outburst from President Donald Trump who urged China to 'put a heavy move' on North Korea to 'end this nonsense once and for all'.
The North's missile technology - which it is banned from developing by the UN Security Council - has advanced rapidly under Kim, ramping up tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.
The impoverished state has also staged five nuclear tests, including two last year.
Washington is to propose tougher UN sanctions against the North, but analysts say they will have a limited impact unless China -- the North's sole major ally and economic lifeline -- steps up pressure on its neighbor.
Beijing is reluctant to risk destabilizing the North, fearing a potential influx of refugees along the frontier or US troops stationed on its border in a unified Korea.
North Korea has long sought to build a rocket capable of delivering an atomic warhead to the continental United States - something that Trump has vowed 'won't happen', and launch marks a new phase in the country's decades-long weapons program.
Trump called an emergency meeting on the Fourth of July to formulate a 'measured response' to North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile test.
Officials say Trump would potentially approve a 'measured response' to deal with North Korea.
North Korea 'will be able to strike San Diego with a nuclear missile in just TWO YEARS', US monitoring group warns after Kim Jong-un's latest deadly weapons test
- Weapon tested by North Korea has a range of 7,000 to 8,000 kilometers, claim experts from 38 North
- It was the country's first successful intercontinental ballistic missile test
- Kim Jong-un described the weapon as a gift to the 'American bastards'
- Aerospace engineer John Schilling warned that the west coast could be vulnerable within two years
Published: 02:20 EDT, 11 July 2017 | Updated: 08:36 EDT, 11 July 2017
Despot North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will 'likely' be able to strike San Diego with a nuclear missile in the next two years, a monitoring group has warned.
Experts believe the secretive state will soon have the ability to successfully launch a 1,102lb warhead capable of hitting the west coast after a successful weapons test last week.
The isolated, nuclear-armed state's first successful ICBM test was described by leader Kim as a gift to 'American bastards'.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un (C) celebrates the successful test-fire of the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 at an undisclosed location
The 'landmark' test of a Hwasong-14 missile was overseen by Kim last Tuesday, prompting a furious reaction from President Donald Trump.
A Hwasong-14 missile is currently estimated to have a range of 7,000 to 8,000 kilometres - enough to reach Alaska or Hawaii - aerospace engineer John Schilling wrote on the respected 38 North website, a monitoring project linked to Johns Hopkins university.
'If the Hwasong-14 is put together the way we think it is, it can probably do a bit better than that when all the bugs are worked out,' he wrote, projecting a range of 9,700 kilometres with a 500 kg warhead on board.
'The North Koreans won´t be able to achieve this performance tomorrow, but they likely will eventually,' he added.
At present it would be 'lucky to hit even a city-sized target', he said, citing limits to its re-entry technology.
This image, released by North Korean agencies on July 5, shows the missile being test launched
+4
Trump called an emergency meeting on the Fourth of July to formulate a 'measured response' to North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile test
But with 'a year or two of additional testing and development', he added, 'it will likely become a missile that can reliably deliver a single nuclear warhead to targets along the US west coast, possibly with enough accuracy to destroy soft military targets like naval bases', such as that at San Diego in California.
The launch in North Korea, which came as the United States prepared to mark its Independence Day, triggered a Twitter outburst from President Donald Trump who urged China to 'put a heavy move' on North Korea to 'end this nonsense once and for all'.
The North's missile technology - which it is banned from developing by the UN Security Council - has advanced rapidly under Kim, ramping up tensions between Pyongyang and Washington.
The impoverished state has also staged five nuclear tests, including two last year.
Washington is to propose tougher UN sanctions against the North, but analysts say they will have a limited impact unless China -- the North's sole major ally and economic lifeline -- steps up pressure on its neighbor.
Beijing is reluctant to risk destabilizing the North, fearing a potential influx of refugees along the frontier or US troops stationed on its border in a unified Korea.
North Korea has long sought to build a rocket capable of delivering an atomic warhead to the continental United States - something that Trump has vowed 'won't happen', and launch marks a new phase in the country's decades-long weapons program.
Trump called an emergency meeting on the Fourth of July to formulate a 'measured response' to North Korea's first intercontinental ballistic missile test.
Officials say Trump would potentially approve a 'measured response' to deal with North Korea.
