North Korea still needs time to perfect re-entry technology - South Korea vice defence minister

[webfact]

North Korea still needs time to perfect re-entry technology - South Korea vice defence minister

 

Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-14 is pictured during its second test-fire in this undated picture provided by KCNA in Pyongyang on July 29, 2017. KCNA via Reuters

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea still does not appear to have mastered missile re-entry technology and will take at least one or two more years to do so, although its ability to miniaturise a nuclear warhead is advancing quickly, South Korea's vice defence minister said.

 

Concern that North Korea is close to achieving its goal of putting the mainland United States within range of a nuclear weapon has underpinned a spike in tensions in recent months. U.S. President Donald Trump has said all options are on the table as he vowed not to allow that to happen.

 

"Both the United States and South Korea do not believe North Korea has yet completely gained re-entry technology in material engineering terms," Vice Defence Minister Suh Choo-suk said in televised remarks on Sunday for a Korea Broadcasting System (KBS) show.

 

"We don't feel they've reached that point yet but it's true they are approaching it. We can't pinpoint the exact timing, but it will take at least one to two more years."

 

Suh said North Korea is likely to continue provocations, including nuclear tests, but did not see a big risk of the North engaging in actual military conflict.

 

Under the orders of leader Kim Jong Un, North Korea has been testing missiles at an unprecedented pace since last year and last week said it was developing a plan to land missiles near the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam.

 

North Korea said its last test of an intercontinental ballistic missile in late August was a "perfect and big success" with both re-entry and warhead control capabilities showing no fault. However, South Korean government and military officials have expressed their doubts about those claims and say more analysis is needed.

 

U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Joseph Dunford is visiting Seoul to discuss the rise in tensions between North Korea with South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Defence Minister Song Young-moo ahead of major joint U.S.-South Korean military drills scheduled for later this month.

 

South Korean Defence Ministry spokesman Lee Jin-woo said the joint drills, long a source of aggravation for Pyongyang, would go ahead as planned.

 

"They are just, legal and annual drills that are focused on defence and to curb North Korea's provocations," he told a regular briefing in Seoul.

 

(To view an interactive package on North Korea's missile capabilities, click http://tmsnrt.rs/2t0oSv7)

 

 

(Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Lincoln Feast)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-14

[Tchooptip]

 " North Corea still does not appear to have mastered missile re-entry technology"

Maybe Kim Jong Un does not realise the USA mastered the technology perfectly? 

 

 

[British Bulldog]

Perhaps I'm missing something here ... according to the chart, they state that the latest missile reached 9 times that of the international space station ? And yet shows it reaching 4000 klms .... most commercial aircraft fly around 10 to 13 klms high ?

Never the less, I remember during the war in Bagdad, with GPS technology in the nose cones of most missiles, the US were hitting the front doors of many Ministries in Bagdad as we, along with the press and general media watched live on TV, wondering where the next missile will hit .... God help the whole world if Kim's missiles go haywire during their flight and hit other Countries (as well) ....

[Jdiddy]

You dont need re entry and accuracy for a EMP attack, with Kim's small yield nukes that is his best bet to wreak havoc

[boomerangutang]

Discussions are better than saber-rattling.   Trump claims he's the best deal-maker the world has ever known, but like most of his boasts, the opposite is true.

[mrwebb8825]

So, we should just take the word of some government official from a non-nuclear capable country? Kim already chocked as his mid-August Guam attack deadline has come and gone. COULD be that he has realized that President Trump isn't screwing around and really WILL blow his butt off the planet.

Better start threatening the Micronesian islands as I don't think they can hurt the fat boy.

[ilostmypassword]

15 minutes ago, mrwebb8825 said:

So, we should just take the word of some government official from a non-nuclear capable country? Kim already chocked as his mid-August Guam attack deadline has come and gone. COULD be that he has realized that President Trump isn't screwing around and really WILL blow his butt off the planet.

Better start threatening the Micronesian islands as I don't think they can hurt the fat boy.

Are you sure it was just North Korea that backed off?

 

Kim Jong-un follows familiar playbook with Guam reversal

The leadership in Pyongyang may also have been encouraged that, while President Trump raised the rhetorical temperature last week, the US refrained from taking any actions that would signal more of a war footing.

North Korea was particularly sensitive about the dispatching of B-1B bombers from the US Air Force base on Guam, the initial stated impetus for the North’s most recent threat, said Euan Graham, director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, an Australian think tank. The US hasn’t conducted any further B-1B flyovers since the threat against Guam

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/kim-jongun-follows-familiar-playbook-with-guam-reversal/news-story/d22250a4953bc7f88c4d6c66a77fa0b0

[mrwebb8825]

17 hours ago, ilostmypassword said:

Are you sure it was just North Korea that backed off?

 

Kim Jong-un follows familiar playbook with Guam reversal

The leadership in Pyongyang may also have been encouraged that, while President Trump raised the rhetorical temperature last week, the US refrained from taking any actions that would signal more of a war footing.

North Korea was particularly sensitive about the dispatching of B-1B bombers from the US Air Force base on Guam, the initial stated impetus for the North’s most recent threat, said Euan Graham, director of the international security program at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, an Australian think tank. The US hasn’t conducted any further B-1B flyovers since the threat against Guam

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/wall-street-journal/kim-jongun-follows-familiar-playbook-with-guam-reversal/news-story/d22250a4953bc7f88c4d6c66a77fa0b0

the flyovers were a direct response to the missile test. There also haven't been any more tests. Besides, why would President trump want to send them empty and possible need them loaded? AND, the last flyover was only 2-ish weeks ago.

[ilostmypassword]

3 hours ago, mrwebb8825 said:

the flyovers were a direct response to the missile test. There also haven't been any more tests. Besides, why would President trump want to send them empty and possible need them loaded? AND, the last flyover was only 2-ish weeks ago.

You sure about that?

http://edition.cnn.com/2017/06/20/politics/north-korea-b-1-bombers/index.html

[FreddieRoyle]

On 8/14/2017 at 10:41 PM, boomerangutang said:

Discussions are better than saber-rattling.   Trump claims he's the best deal-maker the world has ever known, but like most of his boasts, the opposite is true.

I'm no Trump supporter, but let's be fair here. Trump single handed-ly brought the world back from the brink of a nuclear war thanks to his strong approach to Kim. This was a necessary move thanks to the last US administration's policy on Korea which was basically - to use a cockroach analogy - throw a bag of sugar on the floor, turn of the lights and slam the door shut and let;s forget about it all. Of course when Donald opened the door and flicked on the light there was thousands of them scurrying around, big and brave. 

 

 He is not perfect by any means, but thank you Donald for saving our lives from the reckless behavior of your predecessors. And if Donald decides a pre-emptive strike on Korea is needed to stop Kim perfecting his nukes then we should support him wholeheartedly, and stop this constant backbiting and bickering.

[ilostmypassword]

4 minutes ago, FreddieRoyle said:

I'm no Trump supporter, but let's be fair here. Trump single handed-ly brought the world back from the brink of a nuclear war thanks to his strong approach to Kim. This was a necessary move thanks to the last US administration's policy on Korea which was basically - to use a cockroach analogy - throw a bag of sugar on the floor, turn of the lights and slam the door shut and let;s forget about it all. Of course when Donald opened the door and flicked on the light there was thousands of them scurrying around, big and brave. 

 

 He is not perfect by any means, but thank you Donald for saving our lives from the reckless behavior of your predecessors. And if Donald decides a pre-emptive strike on Korea is needed to stop Kim perfecting his nukes then we should support him wholeheartedly, and stop this constant backbiting and bickering.

Another "I'm-no-trump-supporter-but" trump supporter. 

 You really believe that a nuclear war was about to happen? You think that North Korea would even have been making those threats if Trump hadn't upped the ante? You're pretty lonely in that assessment. And the fact is that North Korea still has the nuclear weapons that Trump has been denouncing. What strategically has changed? Trump has saved us from nothing. 

Edited August 17, 2017 by ilostmypassword