North Korea 'close to testing long-range missiles'

[nitpicker]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-38482142

North Korea 'close to testing long-range missiles'

2 hours ago

From the section Asia

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said the country is close to testing long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The intercontinental ballistic missiles were in their "last stage" of development, Mr Kim claimed during his New Year's message.

Pyongyang has conducted two nuclear tests in the past year, including its biggest one to date. This raised fears that North Korea has made significant nuclear advances. But it has never successfully test-fired such a missile.

Reuters reported a senior US military official as saying that although North Korea appears able to put a miniaturised nuclear warhead on a missile, the missile re-entry technology necessary for longer range strikes is still a serious obstacle to its weapons development.
(snip)

[longship]

1. Their nuke weapons tests are in dispute.

For one, their yields are very small when compared to Pyongyang's claims. It very much seems that North Korea is missing some of the required technology, possibly the initiator without which a nuke would be a relative dud.

And it is insufficient that one has a rocket that has the capability of flying X miles. One has to do so reliably and accurately. There is no evidence that NK has either, let alone that they have a deliverable nuke. (Note: there is a huge difference between a testable nuke -- by no means certain at this time -- and a deliverable one.)

Still, NK remains one of the most dangerous and destabilizing regimes on the planet. Hopefully Drumpf will not eclipse them in this regard.