North Korea now making missile-ready nuclear weapons, U.S. analysts say

[jpak]

Source: Washington Post

North Korea has successfully produced a miniaturized nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, crossing a key threshold on the path to becoming a full-fledged nuclear power, U.S. intelligence officials have concluded in a confidential assessment.

The new analysis completed last month by the Defense Intelligence Agency comes on the heels of another intelligence assessment that sharply raises the official estimate for the total number of bombs in the communist country’s atomic arsenal. The U.S. calculated last month that up to 60 nuclear weapons are now controlled by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Some independent experts believe the number of bombs is much smaller.

The findings are likely to deepen concerns about an evolving North Korean military threat that appears to be advancing far more rapidly than many experts had predicted. U.S. officials last month concluded that Pyongyang is also outpacing expectations in its effort to build an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking cities on the American mainland.

While more than a decade has passed since North Korea’s first nuclear detonation, many analysts believed it would be years before the country’s weapons scientists could design a compact warhead that could be delivered by missile to distant targets. But the new assessment, a summary document dated July 28, concludes that this critical milestone has already been reached.


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Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/north-korea-now-making-missile-ready-nuclear-weapons-us-analysts-say/2017/08/08/e14b882a-7b6b-11e7-9d08-b79f191668ed_story.html?utm_term=.4dd87d5328b4

[Achilleaze]

1. Remember the Maine! And the Gulf of Tonkin!

And never forget to remember the cat-and-mouse Polk Provocation to spark the Mexican-American War!

Howled the ghosts of fake war provocations of yesteryear.

[ck4829]

2. Don't even need to go back that far

Fake vial of anthrax, don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud, and of "THEY CAN HIT US IN 45 MINUTES! OH MY GOD!1"

[OnlinePoker]

8. WMD's got us into Iraq the second time. n/t

[workinclasszero]

12. Yep

“Why, of course, the people don’t want war. Why would some poor slob on a farm want to risk his life in a war when the best that he can get out of it is to come back to his farm in one piece. Naturally, the common people don’t want war; neither in Russia nor in England nor in America, nor for that matter in Germany. That is understood.

But, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy or a fascist dictatorship or a Parliament or a Communist dictatorship…

Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country.”

Hermann Goering (as told to Gustav Gilbert during the Nuremberg trials)

[ck4829]

3. Whatever. We're all going to die anyway, right?

http://www.salon.com/2017/06/28/fox-news-host-downplays-trumpcares-side-effects-we-are-all-going-to-die/

[JoeOtterbein]

4. Bad news.

[Freethinker65]

5. I would like to know the background of the analysts involved in making the assessment

[MosheFeingold]

13. It's actually pretty easy

You can tell the size of the reactor from space.

You know how many grams of plutonium it makes per day. Assume 80% operation.

For every ~523grams, you have a bomb.

[Freethinker65]

16. Sounds like the probable size, design, and effectiveness of the warheads recently changed?

I am not doubting that North Korea has nuclear material available.

The delivery system had always been an issue until recently. I have not heard about the warheads before, but to be honest, I am not that well read on North Korea nor weapons systems. After Powell's presentation to the UN, I tend to be a bit skeptical on new breakthrough information and how it was obtained and analyzed.

[MosheFeingold]

17. Yeah, I don't know

If I remember correctly, the hard part in making a deliverable bomb is actually the conventional shaped charges to create an implosion. With computers and digital switches, that's much less of a hurdle than it used to be.

[CanonRay]

6. Shit, I think we're going to have a war

and 20 million or so Koreans are going to pay for our having and idiot for President, with their lives.

[MosheFeingold]

18. We might

Most likely South Korea, Japan, and Taiwan will go nuclear in response.

While I hate nuclear proliferation, I would do it if I was their leader.

We probably should also make a policy statement that any attack from North Korea on the US will be deemed an attack by China. That's really our only semi-peaceful response.

[AtheistCrusader]

7. of course 'US Analysts' would say that.

Next we'll hear about mobile Bioweapon Labs.


This is why Trump isn't the worst president. GW was. Trump has very little blood on his hands at this point, but apparently he has aspirations. Our goal now needs to be to keep him less effective than GW. An open conflict in Korea will quickly eclipse the body count of the second Iraq war/Occupation.

[flibbitygiblets]

9. Apparently this is not as important as Lynch/Clinton on a plane to OUR Dear Leader

2pm Aug 8 2017
@realDonaldTrump

"Emails show that the
AmazonWashhingtonPost and the
FailingNewYorkTimes were reluctant to cover
the Clinton/lynch secret meeting in plane."
-----------------------------------------------------

Never mind about that thing that Trump said would "never happen under his watch" is actually happening. Never mind that his doofus "kid" had secret meetings with Russians and then lied about it repeatedly --with daddy's help--which is MUCH worse, and MUCH more relevant.

THIS is what's occupying the POTUS' mind.

[gilligan]

10. Does

weapons of mass destruction ring a bell.

[workinclasszero]

11. (How soon we forget) Lie by Lie: A Timeline of How We Got Into Iraq

Lie by Lie: A Timeline of How We Got Into Iraq
Mushroom clouds, duct tape, Judy Miller, Curveball. Recalling how Americans were sold a bogus case for invasion.
JONATHAN STEIN AND TIM DICKINSON SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2006 ISSUE



http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/12/leadup-iraq-war-timeline/

[cstanleytech]

14. I remember how the intelligence of Iraq having WMDs was cooked so why should we trust

this with a President like Donald in charge who lies so glibly?

[FreeStateDemocrat]

15. Which state actor is providing NK with technology for this accelerated nuclear weapons development?

I would point the finger at either Pakistan or Russia???

[maryellen99]

19. I put my money on Russia...

[dalton99a]

21. Russia's Love Affair With North Korea

http://thediplomat.com/2017/02/russias-love-affair-with-north-korea/

[xor]

20. Not sure I buy this... I wish Lil' Kim would just STFU about his little missiles and bombs

Both sides seem to be itching for a fight, and it won't be good if they have their way (Captain Obvious, I know)