| Description |
1 online resource (27 pages) : color illustrations, color maps |
| Series |
North Korea's nuclear futures series |
|
North Korea's nuclear futures series
|
| Contents |
Introduction. -- The 2014 baseline. -- Future developments: significant hurdles must be overcome. -- Bounding the problem: three scenarios for 2020. -- A final word |
| Summary |
Pyongyang's inventory of delivery systems is a key factor in considering North Korea's nuclear future. While this inventory is currently based on old Soviet technology only able to reliably reach regional targets, North Korea is seriously pursuing the deployment of more capable, longer-range, more survivable weapons. However, the future course of this effort remains uncertain given technical, engineering and other challenges faced by the North. The dangers posed by North Korea's continuing effort to develop new nuclear delivery systems are clearly real, although more uncertain than nuclear weapons estimates, given the various technological hurdles Pyongyang will have to overcome in the future. Nevertheless, even if North Korea was severely limited in its ability to further develop a direct threat to the United States beyond probably a handful of ICBMs based on old Soviet technology, its existing inventory of approximately 1,000 missiles has sufficient reliability and range to cover most important targets in Northeast Asia. Moreover, the number of systems likely exceeds even the worst-case estimate for North Korea's nuclear inventory in this study, that the North could field 100 nuclear weapons by 2020. In short, North Korea has already achieved a level of delivery system development that will allow it to establish itself as a small nuclear power in the coming years |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references |
| Notes |
Online resource; title from PDF title page (38 North, viewed May 12, 2015) |
| Subject |
Nuclear weapons -- Korea (North)
|
|
Ballistic missiles -- Korea (North)
|
|
Ballistic missiles.
|
|
Nuclear weapons.
|
|
Korea (North)
|
| Form |
Electronic book
|
| Author |
Kan, Henry, author
|
|
