North Korea does not appear to have the technology to strike the United States with accuracy, the vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff said Tuesday, referring to the North's recent launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Air Force Gen. Paul Selva told a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee that despite recent developments in the North's ICBM capability, the July 4 test-firing did not demonstrate an ability to guide a missile to the US.
Paul Selva (AP-Yonhap)
"I ... am not sanguine that the test on the 4th of July demonstrates that they have the capacity to strike the United States with any degree of accuracy or reasonable confidence of success," he said.
On the missile's range, Selva acknowledged it could reach the US and that improvements to the technology will have to be watched carefully.
The North claimed success in its first ICBM launch, saying the Hwasong-14 reached an apogee of 2,802 kilometers while traveling 933 km for 39 minutes. "I'm reasonably confident in the ability of our intelligence community to monitor the testing, but not the deployment of these missile systems," Selva said. "(North Korean leader) Kim Jong-un and his forces are very good at camouflage, concealment and deception."
The general assured lawmakers the US has a series of programs demonstrating the ability of the military and civilian intelligence community to monitor the North's activities. He did not elaborate, citing the sensitivity of the issue. (Yonhap)