US officials have responded to last week’s North Korea ICBM test by hyping up the growing “threat” posed by the nation’s missile program, claiming that North Korea now has the capability of hitting “most” of the United States with a missile.
This narrative plays well into the administration’s eagerness to keep escalating threats and sanctions, but it’s not true. As with the previous “successful” ICBM test, this most recent one wasn’t really a success, and once again demonstrated North Korea’s limitations on such missiles.
In reality, experts say the video footage of the ICBM shows that it broke up upon re-entry, and hit the sea in pieces. Lack of re-entry capability, along with lack of advanced guidance technology, were both cited as problems with the previous test as well.
Indeed, some have argued this makes North Korea’s missile an ICBM only in the loosest sense of the word, as it lacks necessary technology to be accurately fired at such a long range. At its core, these missiles are just medium range missiles with an extra stage of fuel that makes them seem like they’d go farther.
Try explaining this to dummy Trump.
According to Russian sources these so called ICBMs have a range if 735 Kms. If you have a ICBM and you want to show you have one you have to test it over thousands of Kms over the Pacific Ocean to give it any credibility. This is all big talk by Kim Jung On to scare American public. America seizes on this false claim by ratcheting up its belligerent rhetoric and justify military action, including China.
This shows how hard it is to actually build a functioning ICBM yet we accuse Iran of practically having one because they build a rocket to launch a low altitude satellite.
1. It has no guidance system, it just lifts a 500lb payload 300 miles high.
2. It’s range would be about 600 miles (2 X it’s altitude is the rule of thumb).
3. They have not developed any reentry vehicle. They are launching a video imaging satellite for a one way trip.
You have a good point here, Chris .. It’s difficult to build a functioning ICBM, yet we accuse Iran of practically having one because they build a rocket (a far cry from an ICBM) to launch a low altitude satellite for a one-way trip.
Regarding North Korea, the only successful tests of its ICBMs reached the Sea of Japan, not Japan itself. The US should stop complaining, since NK’s ICBMs farthest reach is around 735 kilometers from the launch site. Hawaii’s well beyond 735 kms, and the US Mainland’s over 1,000 kms from Hawaii. Leave NK alone .. It’s been 67 years since it invaded its southern neighbor, and that was due to the provocations of both the US and South Korean President Siegman Rhee, that nation’s equivalent of Poland’s Edward Rydz-Smigly, who had provoked Germany into invading in 1939).
The US is complaining North Korea may be able to do what the US did to Japan seventy years ago. But North Korea knows the US could only do that because Japan didn’t have the same weapons to retaliate with. Now North Korea does.
They should be wondering how the Norks made that ICBM return to Earth. It was 7300 KM further out into space, and heading the wrong way – before they stopped it, made it reverse course and come back down (in pieces?) to land a mere 700 km from the launch site.
That’s some impressive performance. for a space vehicle.