California in range of N. Korea ICBMs | Hacker News Reader

California in range of N. Korea ICBMs

cnn.com

2 pointsAnimats5 comments

CNN is full of it. The key paragraph in the article: "North Korea has never successfully tested an ICBM, despite repeatedly showing off what it claims are working missiles at military parades. Some experts have publicly doubted whether these missiles are anything but mock-ups."

The missile that is claimed to have a 5,400 mile range has never demonstrated this capability, making the article alarmist claptrap. CNN should check actual distances they've achieved, versus what they claim in their breathless press releases.

NK's last launch, on March 6, went 620 miles.

NK have detonated 5 nuclear underground tests, which have had incredibly low yields. Like early US designs, it is likely that the devices were large and heavy. I do not believe NK has a warhead small enough to fit on a rocket - the costly R&D to make a miniature nuke is beyond their means.

Finally, NK loves posturing and bragging. The NK leadership is well aware that an actual attack would end the good life they have as elites.

> The NK leadership is well aware that an actual attack would end the good life they have as elites.

It would end any life they have at all.

Take a look at the map in that article. CNN says North Korea's latest ICBM can reach California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and western Canada with a nuclear weapon. The midwest and eastern US are out of range. Of those areas, only California has targets worth a nuclear weapon.

If North Korea's is attacked by the US, we can expect a nuclear strike at California. Today, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson announced that "(the) Trump administration might be forced to take pre-emptive action if they elevate the threat of their weapons program” to an unacceptable level."[1]

[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/17/world/asia/rex-tillerson-...

> Take a look at the map in that article. CNN says North Korea's latest ICBM can reach California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and western Canada with a nuclear weapon.

That's what the propaganda was about NKs last supposed ICBM too. NK has never fired anything demonstrating anything like that range, and a significant number of their demonstration shots have failed utterly, and there is serious doubt whether they even have usable warheads (being able to build a nuclear explosive and detonate it is not the same as being able to build a warhead sized for and usable on a particular missile.) There is a propaganda confluence between the DPRK and the American Right where each ha their own reason for exaggerating DPRK military capacity, and the American media gets easily sucked in by it.

> The US believes the activity could signal preparations for some type of ballistic missile test in the first days or weeks of the Trump administration, they said.

Didn't this already happen? Not much of a test though, but it sure did put S. Korea on notice.

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