U.S. government officials have issued a truly terrifying warning that North Korea might be preparing to unveil a new “harder to detect” long-range missile capable of reaching America.
Officials told the National Interest that this unveiling of the solid-fuel intercontinental-range ballistic missile could come at the Oct. 10 military parade for the 75th anniversary celebration of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
“That seems to be the most likely of scenarios based on their history — and it’s what we are expecting, but, of course, we are hoping to be proven wrong,” a senior White House official said. “As we have stated on numerous occasions, we strongly encourage North Korea to return to the path of dialogue and negotiation and refrain from all provocations. If they are looking for regime security, that is the only way they can ensure such a goal.”
North Korea has long used liquid-based-fuel missiles, which take a longer time to prepare and can’t be left in a ready-to-launch state because of the combustibility of the chemicals. In contrast, solid-fuel missiles can be left in a fueled state, which means that they can be launched much more quickly. The magazine explained that those projectiles would be “harder to detect and destroy in a military conflict.”
It has been several months since North Korea last conducted a missile test, and nearly three years since the rogue hermit kingdom has tested an ICBM or nuclear weapon. The publication said that unveiling the new rocket one month before the U.S. presidential election in November could be a show of strength to the winning candidate.
This comes after the International Atomic Energy Agency, a United Nations watchdog group, warned in a report that North Korea’s actions are a “clear violation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions.”
The report went on to say that the Yongbyon site, which had long been the epicenter of the country’s nuclear program, has likely been shut down since 2018. The agency added that no plutonium has been produced there in the past year.
“No operation of the plant that provides the steam necessary for reprocessing activities was observed. Therefore, it is almost certain that no reprocessing activity took place and that the plutonium produced in the 5MW(e) reactor during the most recent operational cycle has not been separated,” the report stated.
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