North Korean missile test.
Today the Defense Department published a congressionally mandated, unclassified report on the Military and Security Developments involving the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The report confirmed North Korean threats earlier last year to strike the United States, specifically parts of the US mainland, Hawaii, Guan and U.S. bases in South Korea with nuclear missiles if provoked.
According to the report:
“North Korea has an ambitious ballistic missile development program and has deployed mobile theater ballistic missiles capable of reaching targets throughout the ROK, Japan, and the Pacific theater. Since early 2012, North Korea has made efforts to raise the public profile of its ballistic missile command, now called the Strategic Rocket Forces (SRF). Kim Jong Un’s reference to the SRF during an April 15, 2012 speech seemed to elevate the command to a status on par with the Navy and Air Force. During heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula.”
“In March 2013, North Korea made the SRF the focus of its threat to launch a nuclear attack on U.S. and ROK targets. The targets included the U.S. mainland, Hawaii, Guam, U.S. bases in the ROK, and the ROK President’s residence” (source: http://www.defense.gov/pubs/North_Korea_Military_Power_Report_2013-2014.pdf).
The report noted that:
“North Korea’s continued pursuit of nuclear technology and capabilities and development of intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile programs, as reflected in the December 2012 Taepo Dong-2 missile launch and February 2013 nuclear test, underscore the threat to regional stability and U.S. national security posed by North Korea.”
NOTE:
Section 1236 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012, Public Law 112-81, as amended by Section 1292 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013, provides that the Secretary of Defense shall submit a report “in both classified and unclassified form, on the current and future military power of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea” (DPRK). The report shall address an assessment of the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, the goals and factors shaping North Korean security strategy and military strategy, trends in North Korean security, an assessment of North Korea’s regional security objectives, including an assessment of the North Korean military’s capabilities, developments in North Korean military doctrine and training, an assessment of North Korea’s proliferation activities, and other military security developments.
See related article: North Korea threatens attack, including nukes, on U.S.http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/apr/3/north-korea-threatens-attack-including-nukes-us/?page=all