[RickSp]

Quote by: Zeebadee I'd sure like to see you back up this claim about N. Korean missile systems. I think you're way off base on this one.

It has been pretty widely reported.

Tenet: North Korea has ballistic missile capable of hitting U.S.

North Korea has an untested ballistic missile capable of hitting the United States, top U.S. intelligence officials said Wednesday. 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.

Taep’o-dong 2

The Taep’o-dong 2 is an intercontinental-range, road mobile, liquid propellant ballistic missile. It is currently North Korea’s only true ICBM. Today, this missile represents the single greatest nuclear threat to the United States. While the missile has very limited accuracy, it is thought to be target at major US population centers in both Alaska and Hawaii, and perhaps even as far as California. The Taep’o-dong 2’s major use is as a weapon of international blackmail. Easily equipped with a nuclear weapon, it is the first direct threat to the United States from North Korea. It will likely be used as a threat of nuclear escalation in response to any American intervention during a second Korean war. Just as the People’s Republic of China (PRC) Lt. Gen. Xiong Guang Kai stated that Americans “care more about Los Angeles than they do Tai Pei,” North Korea will likely rely on American unwillingness to lose cities rather than withdraw from Korea. In addition, it will likely be used to blackmail wealthier countries for energy and food, similar to how the North Korean nuclear program has been used. It is also a major income generator as an item for export.

General Bell to Armed Services: North Korea Preparing Three Stage Taepo Dong

North Korea continues to develop a three-stage Taepodong missile that could target the contintental U.S. In written testimony for the Senate Armed Services Committee, General Burwell Bell, commander of U.S. forces in South Korea, stated Tuesday that this new missile “could be operational within the next decade.”