With North Korean Nukes, There's Good News and Bad News

Missiles can 'clearly' reach US but not strike with 'any degree of accuracy'
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 18, 2017 4:04 PM CDT
With North Korean Nukes, There's Good News and Bad News
This July 4, 2017 photo distributed by the North Korean government shows what was said to be the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile.   (Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP, File)

When it comes to North Korea's ability to hit the the US with a nuclear warhead, there's good news and bad news. Gen. Paul Selva, the vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday that North Korea "clearly" has missiles that can reach the US, ABC News reports. Selva said the ICBM tested by North Korea on the Fourth of July could reach Alaska. But, according to Reuters, Selva added that North Korea doesn't yet have the missile re-entry and guidance technology to hit a US target with "any degree of accuracy" or to have any "reasonable confidence of success" in the strike.

Selva told the Armed Services Committee that while "we have to entertain" the possibility of a preemptive military strike against North Korea, the US also needs "to think seriously about what the consequences of that action might be." The Washington Post reports a poll conducted shortly after North Korea's July 4 missile test found 74% of Americans are concerned about a full-scale war with the country. And only 36% of poll respondents have "a good amount" of confidence in President Trump to handle the situation with North Korea. (More North Korea stories.)

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