Does North Korea possess a secret weapon that can turn the THAAD system into scrap metal?
The US deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system in South Korea has prompted Pyongyang to develop ballistic missiles that can neutralize THAAD's capabilities.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches a submarine-launched ballistic missile test near Sinpo, on the northeastern coast of North Korea, May 9, 2015. Photo: EPA/TTXVN |
According to a US Congressional report, North Korea has developed ballistic missiles that can penetrate corners that THAAD cannot intercept.
Once these ballistic missiles re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, the nuclear warheads mounted on them can fly at steeper angles and travel at higher velocity fields, capturing more of the Earth's gravitational pull.
According to Sputnik, the report said that North Korea's improvements could make this missile threat "more difficult to intercept by a missile defense system".
Additionally, “North Korea has demonstrated the ability to launch a salvo of missiles,” a salvo launched with virtually no delay, a threat that THAAD cannot intercept.
“This is consistent with a possible (North Korean) goal of being able to conduct large-scale ballistic missile attacks,” the report warned.
Over the past two years, North Korea has also tested several submarine-launched ballistic missiles that could fall outside the radar range of the THAAD system.
The report stressed that North Korea’s tests were in fact “intended to enhance the reliability, effectiveness, and survivability of its ballistic missile force.” For example, North Korea’s April 29 missile test was quickly declared a failure.
However, South Korean defense officials said that this failed test was actually an act aimed at "developing a nuclear weapon completely different from the existing weapons" of North Korea.
According to estimates by the US Defense Intelligence Agency, North Korea has one or two nuclear weapons, but nuclear physicist David Albright believes the current number must be around 30 and will reach 60 by the end of this decade.
According to News
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