Experts: North Korea's missile was a 'real ICBM' -- and a grave milestone
Source: The Washington Post
By Joby Warrick July 4 at 1:29 PM
The North Korean missile that soared high above the Sea of Japan early Monday was hailed by state-run television as a shining success. But to U.S. officials, it was a most unwelcome surprise: A weapon with intercontinental range, delivered years before most Western experts believed such a feat possible.
Hours after the apparently successful test, intelligence agencies continued to run calculations to determine precisely how the missile, dubbed the Hwasong-14, performed in its maiden flight. But the consensus among missiles experts was that North Korea had achieved a long-sought milestone, demonstrating a capability of striking targets thousands of miles from its coast.
Initial Pentagon assessments said North Korea had tested a land-based, intermediate-range missile that landed in the Sea of Japan just under 600 linear miles from its launch point Panghyon Airfield, near the Chinese border. But government and independent analyses showed the missile traveling in a steep arc that topped out at more than 1,740 vertical miles above the Earths surface.
If flown in a more typical trajectory, the missile would have easily traveled 4,000 miles, potentially putting all of Alaska within its range, according to former government officials and independent analysts. A missile that exceeds a range of 3,400 miles is classified as an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/experts-north-koreas-missile-was-a-real-icbm--and-a-grave-milestone/2017/07/04/554bb81e-60da-11e7-8adc-fea80e32bf47_story.html
oberliner
(58,724 posts)Is there an official Democratic Party position on this?
jaysunb
(11,856 posts)oberliner
(58,724 posts)But I take your point.
manicdem
(388 posts)I'm not sure what can be done. N Korea continues to attack S. Korea with artillery and raids with little consequence. They're so unstable that there may be a point where they don't care and say screw everything. You can't sanction them anymore. Can't cut off food aid or else millions of their people will starve and it'll create more instability. Can't do more "show of military force" exercises cause they already know that they can't survive unless they're capable of delivering nukes.
I think the only way to resolve the conflict is to start cutting trade to China to get hard on N Korea.
Catmusicfan
(816 posts)Response to DonViejo (Original post)
Name removed Message auto-removed
Fluke a Snooker
(404 posts)The Japanese, Chinese, and Russians have him under control. Finally, a progressive President Moon in South Korea isn't worried; he even told Trump and the military warmongers in the US to keep their lousy anti-missile system out of the peninsula, and President Obama has met with him to help assist their situation.
Bottom line: The Republicans are beating their chest on this, but the real danger is nil.
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)Wonder how much of this was ginned up to justify THAAD to the South Korean electorate.
Fla Dem
(23,654 posts)how did they develop the expertise to build ICBMs? Where did they get the technology? Who is training their scientist and supplying them with the materials and technical expertise? If Russia and China facilitated S Korea's armament advances, why? What was in it for them other than to poke a stick at the US and S Korea. Did they really think it was OK to give a maniacal dictator nuclear missiles to play with? Oh wait, the US RW voter did that too.
Not Ruth
(3,613 posts)Funny story.
Russia would have sold ICBM's and nukes to Elon Musk if he wanted them.
https://www.fastcompany.com/3006829/spacex-founder-elon-musk-considered-buying-russian-ballistic-missiles-nukes
What was the motivation for Elon Musk to start SpaceX, his aerospace company? More than a decade ago, a friend asked what he planned to do after PayPal, which he helped start. Musk said he was always interested in space, but had no idea how to get involved. He was especially interested in the exploration of Mars. So I went to the NASA website to see when we were going to Mars, Musk revealed today, and I couldnt find that out.
I thought maybe it was there, but well hidden or something, he added with a laugh.
The funny story, which Musk told today during his crowded talk at SXSW, was partly the impetus for him to start SpaceX. In fact, before starting the company, Musks initial idea was to do a philanthropic mission to the red planet by sending a small greenhouse to the surface of Mars with dehydrated gel seeds that would hydrate on landing. Youd have this cool greenhouse on a red backgroundthatd be the money shot, Musk joked. But how did he first think about accomplishing this? By going to Russia to try to buy intercontinental ballistic missiles, also known as ICBMs.
I went to Russia three times to try to buy a couple of their biggest ICBMs, Musk told the audience. It was an interesting experience. I sort of got the feeling I could have bought the nuke too, but I didnt want to go there.
He had everything else figured out for the philanthropic mission, which he thought would bring the first life to the red planet, but he got stuck on the rocket, which was obviously crucial to the mission.
I was cluelessI had no idea what the heck I was doing, Musk said, reflecting on his experience in 2001 and 2002, as he was gearing up to start SpaceX. It wasnt like, Okay, well just take over the world with rockets.'
Instead, Musk and SpaceX endeavored to develop their own technologyrather than depend on rockets most known from movies like Top Gun. (According to Musk, the government considers the technology SpaceX is developing advanced weaponry.) And after 50 launches, Musk and his team have a better clue of how this whole space thing works.
DFW
(54,365 posts)THAT'S how.
EX500rider
(10,841 posts)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction#History_2
jpak
(41,757 posts)losing more
Sad!
Rustyeye77
(2,736 posts)This cannot go on. Waiting for the Chinese to act is useless.
Another choice is to let them build ICBM with nukes...not a good idea.
Sooner rather than later, it's time to act.
Flame away.
FairWinds
(1,717 posts)everyone knows that only the Hyper-Power is
permitted to build, test, and actually use Nukes on people.
Don't let the national security state do your thinking for you.
Veterans For Peace
Sunlei
(22,651 posts)Fluke a Snooker
(404 posts)Nothing to see here. Move along now. If North Korea were truly a danger, Clinton and Obama would have ensured they would not be this far along. Bush blustered about calling them an "axis of evil" but the bottom line is that China and Russia have far worse nuclear cabilities than North Korea. It should be noted that North Korea isn't threatening CHINA, who is on par with the US in virtually every category.
Just watch the border, keep them in check, don't overreact and give Trump and the republicans any excuse to drum up the military-industrial complex, which I suspect is the REAL goal here.