North Korea Capable of Evading U.S. Missile Defense Systems

According to a report from the Congressional Research Service, neither the U.S. nor its allies should be overconfident about the new, state-of-the-art missile defense systems currently deployed in South Korea, Japan, and elsewhere. These systems, which have been the source of some controversy in Seoul and Beijing, are intended to secure America’s allies from the threat of a North Korean ballistic missile attack. But the report, delivered to Congress this week, says that Pyongyang has already developed missiles which are likely capable of defeating those extravagant (and expensive) defenses.

The report confirmed that the Kim Jong Un regime is regularly testing missiles that could potentially be equipped with nuclear warheads that pose a massive threat to South Korea and Japan, to say nothing of the U.S.’s other allies in the Pacific region.

To counter that threat, the U.S. has deployed the THAAD missile defense system in South Korea. The system, which is mobile, boasts of the capability of shooting down incoming missiles before they can reach their destination.

However, the report says, North Korean leaders have been preparing for this eventuality.

From the Washington Times:

The Congressional Research Service reported that the regime launched test missiles last year in flights precisely designed to avoid interception by rocketing them into much higher altitudes. The result: The re-entry warhead will descend at a steeper angle and faster speed, “making it potentially more difficult to intercept with a missile defense system,” the CRS said.

In another maneuver, the CRS said, “North Korea has also demonstrated an ability to launch a salvo attack with more than one missile launched in relatively short order.”

“This is consistent with a possible goal of being able to conduct large ballistic missile attacks with large raid sizes, a capability that could make it more challenging for a missile defense system to destroy each incoming warhead,” the report said.

North Korea’s recent ballistic missile tests have failed miserably, but experts still agree that the rogue country is well on its way to developing the capability to strike the mainland U.S. with an intercontinental nuclear weapon. The regime’s rapid progress on the nuclear front has sent the Trump administration into a frenzy of activity. It has become clear, both to President Trump and the leaders of our allied Asian nations, that we can no longer afford to sit back and wait for Kim Jong Un to act.