Wednesday’s statement from the North Korean state media about a
mysterious “tactical” weapons test for which Kim Jong Un was present has
been the subject of a lot of speculation. US officials are now saying they don’t think the test was successful.
North Korea described the test as a “tactical” weapon with a powerful
warhead and a new guidance system. Acting Defense Secretary Patrick
Shanahan said the US did not believe it was a ballistic missile, which
was implied in it being a tactical weapon in the first place.
There is no proper evidence that the test failed, and rather the US
intelligence community’s assessment is based on them believing that the
test was an anti-tank weapon of some sort, and them not detecting a
successful test of an anti-tank weapon.
Which means the whole US conclusion is only true if their initial
assumptions were also true. That’s a big if, as North Korea was vague
enough about what was being tested that it could be practically
anything.
US Intel Doubts North Korea Weapons Test Was Successful
Officials think it was part of an anti-tank weapon
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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