North Korea parade ‘probably oversells’ ICBM threat

U.S. intelligence
analysts believe a recent military parade in North Korea
“probably oversells” the threat its inter-continental ballistic
missiles (ICBMs) pose to the United States, according to a
leaked document purportedly from the U.S. government.
Reuters has reviewed more than 50 of the documents, labeled
“Secret” and “Top Secret”, that first appeared on social media
sites in March and supposedly reveal details of military
capabilities of some US allies and adversaries.
Reuters has not independently verified the documents’
authenticity.
While the Pentagon has not vouched for the authenticity
of each of the documents, it said on Monday there appeared to
have been an “unauthorized disclosure of classified material.”
It said that photos appear to show documents similar in format
to those used to provide daily updates to senior leaders, though
some appear altered.
A brief, one-paragraph observation in one of the documents
marked “Secret” and seen by Reuters noted that North Korea had
paraded an unprecedented number of ICBM-class launchers at an
event on Feb. 8 that were “most likely carrying nonoperational
systems.”
The Pentagon and North Korea’s mission to the United Nations
did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the
North Korea part of the documents.
The document said the North Korean aim was “probably to
portray a maturing nuclear threat to the U.S.”
“The North paraded these nonoperational systems to portray a
larger, more capable missile force than it possesses and to
mitigate the risk of damage to its real missiles,” the document
said.
North Korea continues to develop its ballistic missile
program, test-launching dozens of advanced missiles last year
despite United Nations Security Council resolutions and U.S.-led
sanctions. It has continued the testing this year.
The document added that during the next year, “North Korea
will probably be unable to outfit all of the paraded ICBM-class
TELs with operational missiles capable of striking all of the US
because of testing hurdles and resource constraints.”
TEL is an abbreviation for transporter erector launcher, a
mobile missile-launch vehicle.
Imagery published by North Korean state media of the Feb. 8
event showed more purported ICBMs than Pyongyang has displayed
before and hinted at a new solid-fuel weapon.
The images showed as many as 11 Hwasong-17s, North Korea’s
largest ICBM, which is suspected to be capable of striking
nearly anywhere in the world with a nuclear warhead.
The Hwasong-17 was first tested last year. Alongside them at
the parade were what some analysts said could be a prototype or
mockup of a new solid-fuel ICBM in canister launchers. North
Korea has sometimes displayed mockups in its parades.
Developing a solid-fuel ICBM has long been seen as a key
goal for the country, as it could make its nuclear missiles
harder to spot and destroy during a conflict.