News / Military

US within reach of North Korean nukes, says NORAD

Friday, 09 October 2015 9:21 AM [ Last Update: Friday, 09 October 2015 9:21 AM ]

Admiral William Gortney, commander of US Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)

North Korea has sufficient technological capability to conduct nuclear attacks against the US mainland, a top US military chief has warned.

Admiral William Gortney, commander of US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), has said that according to US intelligence assessments, the southeast Asian country is indeed equipped with nuclear weapons, and has the ability to “miniaturize” them and put them on a rocket that could reach targets on US soil.

“We assess that they have the capability to reach the homeland with a nuclear weapon from a rocket,” Gortney told an event hosted by the Atlantic Council think tank.

The commander added that since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is not predictable in terms of behavior, the US military is on a round-the-clock alert to respond if he were to use a nuclear weapon.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (C) visiting the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun in Pyongyang to pay tribute to former leaders Kim Il-Sung and Kim Jong-Il, July 27, 2015. (AFP Photo)

“We’re ready for him, and we’re ready 24 hours a day if he should be dumb enough to shoot something at us,” Gortney said.

“I’m pretty confident that we’re going to knock down the numbers that are going to be shot.”

Pyongyang announced last month that its space agency was about to launch a new domestically build satellite, suggesting that the state has made advances developing a long-range ballistic missile.

In March, the US Missile Defense Agency said that North Korea could achieve the ability to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile this year.

Gortney also declared that the US military is making significant investments in order to modernize its current missile defense system, adding new sensors and radars to enhance its ability to detect missile launches, and reduce the cost of defending against such attacks.

A North Korean military vessel fires a new anti-ship rocket during a drill, at an undisclosed location in North Korea, June 15, 2015. (AFP Photo)

He warned that the failure on the part of US Congress to pass a sizable budget for 2016, or a resumption of mandatory budget cuts, will jeopardize the funding necessary for such efforts.

Back in August, North Korea threatened to attack the United States over holding multinational military exercises with thousands of military forces mainly from South Korea and also Australia, Britain, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France and New Zealand.

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