USFK commander says he assumes N. Korea capable of building nuclear-tipped missile

WASHINGTON, Oct. 24 (Yonhap) -- The commander of U.S. Forces Korea said Friday he assumes North Korea has the capabilities to build nuclear-tipped missiles, though he does not know if the communist nation has actually built such weapons or how effective they are.

"I believe they have the capability to have miniaturized the device at this point, and they have the technology to potentially actually deliver what they say they have," USFK commander Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti said during a press briefing at the Pentagon.

As a military commander, he said, he cannot afford the "luxury of believing perhaps they haven't gotten there."

Scaparrotti added, "Given their technological capabilities, that the times that they've been working on this, that they probably have the capabilities to put this together. I don't believe that they have. I don't know that they have at this point."

For decades, North Korea has been working to build nuclear missiles, conducting three nuclear tests and a number of long-range rocket launches. Miniaturizing nuclear warheads has been considered one of the last-remaining hurdles to the regime's development of nuclear missiles.

"As a commander, I've got to assume they've had the capabilities to put it together. We've not seen it tested at this point, and as you know, for something that's that complex, without it being tested, the probability of it being effective is pretty darn low," Scaparrotti said.

jschang@yna.co.kr
(END)