Is Our West Coast Vulnerable to a North Korean Missile Attack? Some Experts Say Not Yet


Although the North Koreans have developed nuclear bombs and medium-range missiles, they face two significant engineering feats in to order to produce an ICBM and nuclear warhead that can threaten the American mainland.

Unlike shorter-range missiles, long-range missiles have multiple engines and flight stages, meaning North Korean engineers have to make rockets – and bombs – that can survive the violent vibrations of launch, the wrenching g-forces of flight, and the temperatures changes of takeoff and re-entry from space.”

With its current capabilities, North Korea poses a bigger threat to South Korea, Japan and the 80,000 American troops stationed in those countries.

In a military parade last weekend, the North Koreans showcased what they claimed were two new ICBMs, which were larger than existing models designed by Russia and the United States. This display led some observers to speculate the missiles might be fakes.

Several weapons experts believe that given the pace at which North Korea has developed its current bomb and missile arsenal, it could take as long as a decade for them to develop an ICBM that would pose a real threat to the United States.

President Donald Trump has made it clear that he would consider pre-emptive military action to forestall the North Korean regime from achieving the capability to launch a nuclear warhead toward the United States.

Just last Sunday, the North Koreans tried a new missile launch that failed miserably as the rocket blew up upon liftoff. Some observers speculate that the disaster might be attributed to a cyber-attack by the United States.

Joshua Pollock a senior researcher at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California, believes it will take time for the North Koreans to work their way through the usual technical difficulties. He also thinks a lesson can be drawn from previous concerns about nuclear war when we coexisted for decades with other nuclear rivals, Russia and China.

The good news, if you’re worried, is first of all the North Koreans are not suicidal, they’re not going to just start a war. So this is a familiar condition for us and I don’t think we need to get too worked up.”

While Kim Jong-un continues his saber rattling and propaganda, he must consider that he no longer is dealing with Barack Obama. Donald Trump poses an entirely new dilemma for him to think about before he takes the matter too far.

Traveling to South Korea and other Asian countries this week, Vice President Mike Pence warned that “the sword stands ready” to address North Korean aggression. He made his remarks to a cheering crowd of sailors on the USS Ronald Reagan.

Source: The Guardian

 

 



Share

75 Comments

Leave a Reply

Pin It on Pinterest