
(WatchDogReport.org) – North Korea’s famously unstable dictator has revealed a new warhead that could threaten the US. According to experts, if the weapon is real, North Korea could now be able to build a nuclear-armed missile capable of intercontinental range. That would make the rogue state much more dangerous than it currently is.
Kim Jong Un Unveils New Nuclear Warheads As US Warship Reaches South Korea https://t.co/yEOhb54Qb9 pic.twitter.com/NMvRNpB3EN
— NDTV (@ndtv) March 30, 2023
On March 27, North Korea’s state-run media, Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), released shots of Dear Leader Kim Jong-un inspecting small objects that the agency claims are new Hwasan-31 nuclear warheads. The photos, allegedly taken inside the country’s Nuclear Weapons Institute, show at least nine of the objects, which appear to be around two feet long and 18” in diameter. KCNA boasted that the regime will increase production of weapons-grade uranium to manufacture more of the weapons.
South Korean nuclear weapons expert Kune Y Suh says these warheads are much smaller than the ones North Korea displayed in 2016, calling the development “worrisome.” Former South Korean naval officer Kim Dong-yup described the design as “a miniaturized, lightweight and standardized warhead” that could be launched on a number of different platforms.
For any government with a reasonable industrial and scientific base, designing a nuclear weapon isn’t all that difficult. The problem is making one small enough that it can actually be made into a weapon system. Simple nuclear weapons are very large and heavy; if these new North Korean ones are real, they’re small enough to be built into weapons such as a torpedo or tactical bomb. A short-range ballistic missile could certainly carry one, and an ICBM able to reach the US from North Korea could potentially carry several.
In response, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US is willing to discuss denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but North Korea doesn’t seem interested. Therefore, he said, the US “will continue to make sure that we have the appropriate military capabilities” to deal with any threat from North Korea. South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol called for an end to economic aid to the north, saying the country doesn’t deserve “a single penny” while it continues to develop illegal nukes.
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