Wednesday, March 22, 2006

Reuters: "Korean missiles can’t hit continental US"

By way of the Daily Times (Pakistan). Note the last paragraph:
North Korea has hundreds of missiles within reach of South Korea and Japan but it does not have an operational missile that could strike the continental United States, a report released on Wednesday said.

North Korea has more than 800 ballistic missiles, some of which could deliver chemical or possibly biological weapons, the California-based Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) said in its report on North Korea’s capabilities. The report said missile exports are a major source of foreign exchange for the North Korean government.

North Korea’s earliest and most loyal customer for missiles and missile technology has been Iran,” it said. CNS says it is the largest non-governmental organisation in the United States devoted exclusively to research and training on non-proliferation issues.

Concern over North Korea’s missile programmes mounted when it launched two, and possibly three, short-range missiles earlier this month.

The commander of US forces in South Korea described the missiles in the test as representing a “quantum leap forward” from North Korea’s previous weapons because they had greater reliability and precision . . . .

US intelligence estimates have said a two-stage and yet-untested missile called Taepodong-2 could theoretically reach Alaska, Hawaii and parts of the continental United States, while a three-stage version could strike deep into US territory.
That title should have the word "yet" appended to the end. (That's about half the article.)

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