Pentagon: North Korean Missiles Could Hit US West Coast in Three Years

Timeline Assumes "A Lot of Luck"

by Jason Ditz, June 16, 2009

Following last week’s assertion from the Air Force that the Iranian military might have the capability to hit US territory with missiles within six years, the Pentagon told the Senate today that North Korean missiles could hit the western coast of the US within as little as three years.

Considering the context of the comments: a Senate hearing on funding for missile defense systems, it is hardly surprising that the military would predict an imminent threat on that front. At the same time General Cartwright admitted that the three year timeline is “assuming a lot of luck on their part in moving forward.”

The latest defense budget is shifting hundreds of millions from the missile defense system in favor of equipment to fight the insurgencies opposing the assorted US occupation, both current and future.

North Korea has been working to upgrade the range of its missiles, but failed earlier this year to launch into orbit a communications satellite with a rocket most Western analysts agree was a prototype for a new multi-stage long range missile.

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