New Threat From Kim Jong Un: Miniaturised Nuclear Warheads Capable Of Striking US Mainland

North Korea claims to be able to make miniaturised nuclear warheads which are small enough to be fitted on a missile. The Kim Jong Un regime has been working on the nuclear weapons program, and many analysts believe that it may be able to develop a nuclear weapon in the near future.

In a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency via Yonhap News, the North Korean Military said the country possessed the ability to miniaturise nuclear weapons and could produce multiform weapons. This would increase the tension in the Asian region and has have U.S. officials worried. This statement is coming on the heels of the North Korean claim that it has test-fired submarine-launched ballistic missile earlier this month. According to the US-Korea Institute at John Hopkins University in Baltimore (via Fox News), the images of the test may have been altered. Security analysts believe that the missiles would have been fired from a submerged barge rather than a submarine.

Miniaturisation is an important step in fitting a nuclear war head on an intercontinental ballistic missile. The nuclear device needs to be tough enough to withstand the intense heat generated by the flight.

Pyongyang’s announcement about the miniaturisation of warheads was met with scepticism. The Boston Globe, quoting Admiral James Winnefeld, the Joint Chief of Staff, said that the North Koreans "have not gotten as far their clever video editors and spinmeisters would have us believe.” Though experts have dismissed North Korea’s claims, they have accepted that some kind of tests have been undertaken by the country. David Albright, a former weapons inspector, told CNN that Pyongyang would have 10 to 15 nuclear weapons and it would grow over the years.

International pressures have not deterred North Korea in pursuing its nuclear programs. In fact, the program has gathered momentum over the years, raising concerns from Japan, South Korea and other East Asian countries.

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