[Courtesy of Xinhua News]
North Korea's test of a new liquid-fuel engine last week was a "disturbing" development that could put to rest all claims that its intercontinental ballistic missile program is a hoax, according to 38 North, the website of a US research institute.
The engine uses high-energy propellants that would give a missile greater range than Pyongyang's traditional mix of kerosene and nitric acid, 38 North said.
Using this technology, North Korea's road-mobile ICBM could deliver a nuclear warhead to targets at a distance of 10,000 to 13,000 kilometers, enough to reach the US east coast, it said.
"If the current ground test program continues and is successful, flight tests of a North Korean ICBM could begin in as little as a year. Moreover, Pyongyang may be able to deploy this delivery system in a limited operational capability by 2020."
The April 9 test was "a disturbing development that not only highlights the growing threat posed by Pyongyang but should also put to rest, once and for all, all claims that the North's WMD programs are a hoax", 38 North said.
"In fact, the test demonstrated that North Korea has an even greater capability at a more advanced state of development than previously anticipated."
North Korea has demonstrated "something we only suspected them of working on and have done it on a larger scale than anticipated", but there is a small chance that North Korea's ICBM could enter limited service by the end of this decade, 38 North said.
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
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Park Sae-jin
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