Ex-USFK commander: N. Korea could have proven ICBM capability in 3-4 years

WASHINGTON, July 29 (Yonhap) -- Former U.S. Forces Korea Commander Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti has expressed strong concern that North Korea could have proven intercontinental ballistic missile capability in three to four years.

"I think we need to continue in every way we can to put pressure on this country to bring them to follow the United Nations Security Council resolutions," Scaparrotti said during the Aspen Security Forum in Washington on Thursday, according to the Defense Department news.

"I am very concerned about what he has today, but I am more concerned about what he will have in three or four years -- when he has a proven intercontinental capability, when he has perhaps figured out the submarine capability and when he has built more nuclear devices," he said, referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Scaparrotti, currently NATO's supreme allied commander in Europe, also said that the sanctions brought against the North Korean leader were a good step and also expressed support for the planned deployment of the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea.

In 2012, North Korea first succeeded in putting a satellite into orbit aboard a long-range rocket that could also be used as an intercontinental ballistic missile. The North again succeeded in another long-range rocket launch in February this year.

Last month, the North successfully conducted its sixth test of the Musudan intermediate-range ballistic missile after five successive failures, with the missile reaching space and re-entering Earth's atmosphere before landing in the targeted waters.

Mastering reentry technology has been considered a key hurdle in the North's ICBM development.

Earlier this month, the North carried out a submarine-launched ballistic missile test. The test ended in failure, with the missile, known as the KN-11, exploding at an altitude of some 10 kilometers after being launched from a submarine, but experts say the North has been making progress in its SLBM development.

The communist nation has also been forging ahead with its nuclear weapons development, conducting its fourth underground nuclear test in January, claiming it successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test.

Analysts have warned that it is only a matter of time until the North develops nuclear-tipped missiles. Some experts have recently warned that the communist nation's nuclear arsenal could expand to as many as 100 bombs by 2020.

jschang@yna.co.kr
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