North Korea may have reached a level of nuclear capability that poses a new threat to the U.S., a U.S. general warned Friday.
Army General Curtis Scaparrotti, the top American commander in South Korea, said Friday at the Pentagon that North Korea may have the ability to miniaturize a nuclear weapon to enable it to be attached to a long-range ballistic missile.
“I think given their technological capabilities, the time that they been working on this, that they probably have the capabilities to put this together,” Scaparrotti said, according to the Associated Press.
Scaparrotti added that North Korean claims of having the technological ability to field a nuclear-armed missile with a vehicle that would be difficult to track by satellite should be taken seriously. He also clarified, however, that the likelihood that such a system would work successfully at the moment were “pretty darn low” because the North Korean military had not tested it.
Nevertheless, the ability to field a mobile, long-range nuclear-armed missile would represent a new threat from North Korea, long considered one of the nation states harboring the greatest animosity toward the U.S.
The situation in North Korea has become increasingly precarious during the rule of Kim Jong Un, who succeeded his father Kim Jong Il as the nation’s Supreme Leader in 2011. Reports of Kim Jong Un’s retributions against members of his inner circle and his recent weeks-long disappearance from the public have raised questions about the stability of the isolated country’s ruling structure.
Pentagon press secretary Rear Admiral John Kirby said Friday that Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel shares Scaparrotti’s worries about North Korea’s attempts to build a long-range nuclear missile, explaining that “the secretary agrees with Gen. Scaparrotti that this is a capability that they want. And I think the secretary also shares the general’s views of the seriousness of the matter.”
Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday that the U.S. remains eager to find ways to engage with North Korea, but stipulated that the “first thing you have to do is come to a competent, real, authentic set of talks about denuclearization,” according to the New York Times.
