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Report: US Intel Suggests North Korea May Be Gearing Up For Another ICBM Test

KCNA via REUTERS

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Ryan Pickrell China/Asia Pacific Reporter
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North Korea may be preparing for another intercontinental ballistic missile test, according to U.S. officials.

U.S. satellites have detected key indications that North Korea may soon — within the next few weeks — test an intermediate-range ballistic missile or another ICBM, two U.S. officials familiar with the latest intelligence told CNN.

North Korea shocked the world earlier this month with the successful test of the Hwasong-14 ICBM, which the U.S. government assesses can range parts of the U.S. Some observers initially claimed that the missile could strike Alaska, but the range has since been extended to include parts of the West Coast. Some experts have even suggested the weapon can reach New York.

North Korea has tested a collection of new short-, medium-, intermediate-, and long-range missiles this year, advancing North Korea’s missile program at an accelerated rate.

While the North may be preparing for another test, it is difficult to predict missile and nuclear tests. Furthermore, there are clear intelligence gaps when it comes to North Korea, as it is one of the most challenging intelligence targets in the world today.

“I’m ‘reasonably confident’ in the ability of our intelligence community to monitor the testing but not the deployment of these missile systems. Kim Jong-un and his forces are very good at camouflage, concealment, and deception,” Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Paul Selva told the Senate Armed Services Committee Tuesday. The North knows it is under constant observation, and it acts accordingly to throw off foreign observers.

Despite the difficulty of tracking North Korean weapons technology, the U.S. was reportedly able to observe North Korea for a little over an hour while it prepared for its ICBM test.

While Selva acknowledged that North Korea can now range the U.S., he explained that the North has yet to demonstrate a “capacity to strike the United States with any degree of accuracy or reasonable confidence of success.” He suggested that North Korea’s new missile may lack the necessary guidance technology.

Through additional testing, the North is likely to continue to improve its missiles, giving it the ability to hold U.S. cities hostage the way it does cities in South Korea and Japan.

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