US General: North Korea's ICBM Capacity Increases Rapidly Over Estimates
General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the United States Army (US) said that the ability of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) North Korea (North Korea) increased significantly and faster than expected.
The conclusion of the US general refers to the results of ICBM's Kim Jong-un regiment trial on July 4, 2017.
Milley, in his speech at the National Press Club in Washington, said there was still time for non-military solutions to the crisis caused by North Korea's nuclear and missile programs. However, he warned that the time was running out.
"The North is very dangerous and more dangerous as the weeks pass," he said.
US media reported this week that the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), a Pentagon spy agency, has assessed that North Korea will be able to produce nuclear-capable ICBM next year. The time limit is faster than the initial forecast of about four years.
However, two US officials said several other analysts who studied the North Korean missile program disagreed with HIS assessment. The officials have seen an increase in North Korean activity that is expected to test another missile within days.
After the ICBM test on July 4, North Korea claims to have mastered the technology needed to deploy nuclear warheads through the missile. Pyongyang has been blunt about its plans to develop a nuclear missile capable of attacking the United States and has ignored international calls to stop its weapons program.
North Korea: The Crisis Solution Is US Kneeling and Apologizing
Pyongyang's government says the only way to overcome the Korean peninsula crisis is that the United States (US) kneels and apologizes to the North Korean army and people.
The statement comes as the country commemorates the 64th anniversary of a truce with its South Korean neighbor on Thursday (27/07/2017).
The date of the ceasefire marked the end of the 1950-1953 Korean War. Kim Jong-un's ruling regime in North Korea commemorated the ceasefire as a day of triumph.
Although the ceasefire has lasted 64 years, the two Koreas are technically still in a state of war because there is no peace agreement from both countries.
The North Korean government statement appears in the editorial of Rodong Sinmun newspaper, a media run by the sole and ruling Labor Party in North Korea. The media said in an editorial that the only way to ease tensions in Korean territory is if Washington reduces "hostile policies".
"There is only one way out for the United States, which is to draw an anachronistic hostile policy towards North Korea and kneel down and apologize to the army and its people," the main Pyongyang newspaper quoted Friday (28/7/2017).
The North's government through a spokesman also called on Pyongyang's military to prepare for tension again because the US can not retreat with its aggressive stance.
When Kim Jong-un regime commemorated 64 years of a ceasefire with South Korea, there was speculation that North Korea would launch a missile. However, South Korean authorities have clarified that Pyongyang has not test-fired missiles despite heavy vehicle movement at missile test sites.
"Currently, there are no signs of North Korea missile launch being carried out. Our military continues to closely monitor every North Korean provocation, mobilizing joint surveillance assets with the United States, "said South Korean Military Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesman Colonel Roh Jae-Cheon, quoted by the IB Times.
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