By Harry Kazianis
In a recent report over at 38 North, Jeffrey Lewis and John Schilling discuss various North Korean missile “mock-ups” displayed over the last year. While the authors note that “not all of these solutions are elegant,” they quickly add “these options are good enough to produce missiles with theoretical ranges from 5,500 kilometers to over 11,000 kilometers. The latter would allow virtually the entire United States of America to be reached from North Korean launch sites, making good on the threat implied by the Map of Death. Almost all of the configurations examined would be able to deliver a light first-generation nuclear warhead at least as far as Seattle.”
Leaving aside for the moment if or how North Korea could actually in the near future hit the United States or even nations in Northeast Asia with a nuclear weapon, such a discussion makes clear Washington and its allies will soon be faced with a challenge that myself and many others have discussed – the threat of not only nuclear tipped missiles but slowly advancing types and ever increasing amounts of ballistic and conventionally armed cruise missiles.
Read the full story at The Diplomat