Pentagon: North Korea working on a nuclear missile to reach the US

North Korea continues to work toward developing a long-range
nuclear missile that can reach the United States, according to an unclassified
report to Congress released by the Pentagon Thursday.

The report
said that North Korea’s advances in ballistic missiles and nuclear technology
are in line with Pyongyang’s stated objective of striking the U.S. homeland.

The assessment did not shed much light on the timeline of when
North Korea might develop an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), only
saying that the pace would depend on the level of resources and frequency of
testing.

The Pentagon’s unclassified report on North Korea’s military
capabilities was the first delivered to Congress after lawmakers included the
requirement in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act.

{mosads}The report cited the December 2012 test of a Taepodong-2 [TD-2]
missile that launched a satellite into space, as well as North Korea’s third
nuclear test this year, as evidence of Pyongyang’s desire for a long-range
nuclear missile.

But the North still hasn’t developed the technology to
weaponize the long-range missile, according to the Pentagon’s assessment.

“North Korea continues to develop the TD-2, which could
reach parts of the United States if configured as an intercontinental ballistic
missile (ICBM) capable of carrying a nuclear payload,” the report said.

The report noted that Pyongyang has not tested a re-entry
vehicle — “without which North
Korea cannot deliver a weapon to target from an ICBM.”

The new Pentagon report comes a month after Rep. Doug
Lamborn (R-Colo.) disclosed
the unclassified portion of a classified a Defense Intelligence Agency report,
which read: “DIA assesses with moderate confidence the North currently has
nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles, however the
reliability will be low.”

Pentagon officials later walked back the assessment, saying the text was mistakenly unclassified.

North Korea has threatened a nuclear strike against the
United States and South Korea in recent months, escalating tensions on the
Korean Peninsula while the U.S. and Seoul conducted joint military exercises.