NK boasts of weapons that can defeat US
Source: Agencies |
April 26, 2012, Thursday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
NORTH Korea is armed with "powerful modern weapons" capable of defeating the US, a top military chief in Pyongyang said yesterday.
The comments by Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho at a meeting marking the 80th anniversary of the army's founding came amid increased speculation abroad about the nation's missile arsenal and nuclear ambitions.
The US worries about the possibility that North Korea may build a reliable intercontinental ballistic missile and a nuclear bomb small enough to use as a payload.
But outside experts believe that is still a long way off.
North Korea has enough plutonium for about four to eight "simple" bombs, according to estimates by scientist Siegfried Hecker of the Center for International Security and Cooperation, but it doesn't yet appear to have the ability to make bombs small enough to mount on a missile. The country's past long-range rocket tests - in 1998, 2006, 2009 and earlier this month - are believed to have ended in failure.
Ri emphasized the importance of strengthening the military to defend North Korea against threats it sees from the US and South Korea. He called his nation a nuclear and military power and praised new leader Kim Jong Un, believed to be in his late 20s, as a "military strategist" who has been giving the army guidance for years.
"The Korean People's Army is armed with powerful modern weapons ... that can defeat the (US) imperialists at a single blow," he told party and military officials.
Ri, who is chief of the army's General Staff, did not provide further details about North Korea's weapons.
Earlier this month, North Korea launched a long-range rocket in what its officials called a failed attempt to put a satellite into space.
The comments by Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho at a meeting marking the 80th anniversary of the army's founding came amid increased speculation abroad about the nation's missile arsenal and nuclear ambitions.
The US worries about the possibility that North Korea may build a reliable intercontinental ballistic missile and a nuclear bomb small enough to use as a payload.
But outside experts believe that is still a long way off.
North Korea has enough plutonium for about four to eight "simple" bombs, according to estimates by scientist Siegfried Hecker of the Center for International Security and Cooperation, but it doesn't yet appear to have the ability to make bombs small enough to mount on a missile. The country's past long-range rocket tests - in 1998, 2006, 2009 and earlier this month - are believed to have ended in failure.
Ri emphasized the importance of strengthening the military to defend North Korea against threats it sees from the US and South Korea. He called his nation a nuclear and military power and praised new leader Kim Jong Un, believed to be in his late 20s, as a "military strategist" who has been giving the army guidance for years.
"The Korean People's Army is armed with powerful modern weapons ... that can defeat the (US) imperialists at a single blow," he told party and military officials.
Ri, who is chief of the army's General Staff, did not provide further details about North Korea's weapons.
Earlier this month, North Korea launched a long-range rocket in what its officials called a failed attempt to put a satellite into space.
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