US Space Missile Defense Commander: "All North Korean Missiles Considered Maximum Threat"

US Senior Security Officials Issue Unified Warning

Kim Jong-un, Chairman of the State Affairs Commission of North Korea, delivering a speech at the 6th National Veterans' Conference held on the 27th of last month at the Pyongyang 4·25 Cultural Hall.

As the United Nations has observed the possibility that North Korea has succeeded in miniaturizing nuclear warheads, senior U.S. security officials issued unified warnings on the 4th (local time) regarding North Korea's missile threat.

Daniel Kablur, Commander of the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command, stated at the Space Missile Defense Symposium that "all missiles launched by North Korea are considered the greatest threat to the United States." He explained, "It is quite difficult to determine what type of warheads are mounted on all the missiles North Korea possesses," adding, "This is why we must maximize the United States' missile defense capabilities."

Charles Richard, Commander of the U.S. Strategic Command, who delivered the keynote speech that day, warned that North Korea's nuclear development continues and that North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launches could pose a threat to the U.S. mainland.

In his speech, while explaining the threats from China and Russia, he said, "There are more cases," adding, "North Korea continues its illegal pursuit of nuclear weapons and is improving its missile systems."

Commander Richard added, "These capabilities threaten our forces and allies in the region, and their ICBM tests conducted in recent years could pose a threat to our homeland."

The assessment labeling North Korea as a "rogue state" also reemerged. John Hill, Director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, while explaining the U.S. missile defense system, said, "Rogue states like North Korea and Iran, along with similar threats from China and Russia, are developing very rapidly," adding, "This is a very complex and challenging environment."

Meanwhile, the United Nations recently evaluated in a report that North Korea appears to have developed miniaturized nuclear warheads capable of being mounted on ballistic missiles.

According to major foreign media on the 3rd (local time), the report from the expert panel of the U.N. Security Council's North Korea Sanctions Committee reportedly includes the content that "some countries that assisted North Korea's nuclear tests are assessed to have helped North Korea develop miniaturized nuclear warheads capable of being mounted on ballistic missiles."

Contrary to North Korea's claim that it has not developed nuclear weapons since the sixth nuclear test in 2017, it is presumed that North Korea has continued to develop strategic nuclear weapons while evading sanctions.