Why aren't we there?
<a href="http://usinfo.state.gov/regional/ea/easec/gilmannk.htm">From the US State Department:</a>
Quote:
The communist regime in Pyongyang, Gilman said in opening remarks at a March 16 hearing on North Korea, continues "to develop the Taepo Dong II intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), despite a test moratorium, and could launch the missile this year should it decide to do so."
A three-stage Taepo Dong II, he told fellow International Relations Committee members, "would be capable of delivering a several-hundred kilogram payload anywhere in the United States."
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<a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/405150.stm">From BBC</a>
Quote:
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A prototype ND-I was reportedly identified on a launch pad in May 1990 and research culminated with a launch up to 1,000 km into the Sea of Japan in 1993.
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and
Quote:
The Rumsfield report detailed the TD-II a month before the test firing of the TD-I, describing it as a "scaled-up" scud capable of carrying a warhead of up to 1,000 kg.
Western analysts believe that the TD-II could have a range of up to 6,000 km, putting Alaska, Hawaii, China, parts of India and western Russia within its reach.
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So their little missile can hit China, Japan, India, South Korea, and Russia. A payload capacity of several hundred kilograms is enough to carry a nuclear weapon with a yield in the hundred-kiloton range. It may not be much compared to the US arsenal, but a weapon with a yield of only 12-18 kilotons flattened Hiroshima.
CNN:
Quote:
While testifying at a Senate committee hearing in Washington, CIA Director George Tenet was asked whether North Korea had a ballistic missile capable of reaching the U.S. West Coast.
Before answering, Tenet turned to very quickly consult with aides sitting behind him.
"I think the declassified answer, is yes, they can do that," Tenet said.
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/asiapc...rea/index.html
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We do not have a reliable missile defense system in place; the successful results from our tests were achieved with advance knowledge of launch times and no decoy payloads. A retaliatory missile launch in response to an invasoin of North Korea could reult in the near-complete destruction of Sattle, Honolulu, Portland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas, and any other major city on the US West coast, along with much of Canada.
As for airdropping food, North Korea has shot down troop transports off their coast, 40 miles into international territory, and does not hesitate to fire on planes that fly near their airspace. Any relief effort would be thwarted by hostile fire before cargo planes made it anywhere near land.
For now, it seems that diplomacy is the only viable solution. Let's hope it works.