Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by Fnord666 on Tuesday July 04 2017, @11:08PM   Printer-friendly
from the so-they-say dept.

North Korean state media claims that it can hit anywhere in the world with its new missile. Others say that it is capable of reaching Alaska:

North Korea said on Tuesday it successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) for the first time, which flew a trajectory that experts said could allow a weapon to hit the U.S. state of Alaska. The launch came days before leaders from the Group of 20 nations were due to discuss steps to rein in North Korea's weapons program, which it has pursued in defiance of U.N. Security Council sanctions.

The launch, which North Korea's state media said was ordered and supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, sent the rocket 933 km (580 miles) reaching an altitude of 2,802 km over a flight time of 39 minutes.

North Korea has said it wants to develop a missile mounted with a nuclear warhead capable of striking the U.S. mainland. To do that it would need an ICBM with a range of 8,000 km (4,800 miles) or more, a warhead small enough to be mounted on it and technology to ensure its stable re-entry into the atmosphere. Some analysts said the flight details on Tuesday suggested the new missile had a range of more than 8,000 km, underscoring major advances in its program. Other analysts said they believed its range was not so far.

Also at BBC and NYT.


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday July 05 2017, @02:17AM (3 children)

    by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday July 05 2017, @02:17AM (#535022) Journal

    One thing to note is that many of their tests are estimated to have had sub-10 kiloton yields. Miniaturizing the weapons might make the yields even worse. Although if they can fire 20-30 of them into the Seoul Capital Area, maybe it won't matter.

    --
    [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   2  
  • (Score: 2) by fnj on Wednesday July 05 2017, @09:09AM (2 children)

    by fnj (1654) on Wednesday July 05 2017, @09:09AM (#535112)

    Did you ever hear of a place called Hiroshima? Nagasaki? In each case, a single explosion of around 15 kilotons killed around 100,000 people. Per inverse square scaling, a couple of kilotons could easily kill tens of thousands. Twenty to thirty of those? Are you kidding? In a city like Seoul tat could easily take out millions.

    Get real. Christ, people have no idea what real war is any more. It's not like playing pattycake with a few terrorists.

    • (Score: 2) by takyon on Wednesday July 05 2017, @01:43PM (1 child)

      by takyon (881) <reversethis-{gro ... s} {ta} {noykat}> on Wednesday July 05 2017, @01:43PM (#535169) Journal

      You get real. The yields on NK's weaponizable nukes could easily be less than 2 kilotons each. There are less wooden buildings in Seoul. 20-30 nukes is the high estimate. And I never said millions wouldn't die.

      Maybe the Cold War has addled your brain.

      --
      [SIG] 10/28/2017: Soylent Upgrade v14 [soylentnews.org]
      • (Score: 2) by fnj on Wednesday July 05 2017, @10:45PM

        by fnj (1654) on Wednesday July 05 2017, @10:45PM (#535443)

        Or they could just as easily be considerably more than 20 kilotons. What's the point of completely unsupported wild-assed guesswork? You plan based on what you know is possible.