據報朝鮮導彈可能對美國西海岸構成威脅
A top research group says prototype ballistic missiles seen at recent North Korean military parades may be more advanced than earlier believed, possibly enough to threaten the U.S. west coast.
Many Western analysts dismissed the KN-08 missiles as primitive, non-operational mockups when they appeared in photos of Pyongyang military parades in April 2012 and again in July of this year. But the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University said the missiles, even if fakes, appear to be getting more advanced, and have reached the point of being what it called "scary good."
The institute's report said the missile mockups appear to show North Korea can assemble components and technologies "good enough to produce missiles with theoretical ranges from 5,500 to over 11,000 kilometers." That would easily be far enough for North Korea to make good on its threats of being able to strike the U.S. mainland with a nuclear warhead.
The report cautioned the KN-08s are "almost certainly" non-operational and would need to be tested at least once. It said, though, a test could occur any time, given the advanced state of the mockup hardware and recent satellite photos showing upgrades at North Korea's main missile launch site.一個主要研究機構說，近來朝鮮閱兵展示的彈道導彈可能比以往所判斷的更先進，或許足以對美國西海岸構成威脅。
很多西方分析人士曾經認爲，根據平壤2012年4月和今年7月閱兵展示的KN-08導彈的照片判斷，那只是不能使用的粗糙模型。但美國約翰·霍普金斯大學的美韓研究所說，儘管只是模型，這種導彈看來更先進，已達到足以構成威脅的程度。
美韓研究所的報告說，KN-08導彈模型看上去顯示朝鮮組裝部件和運用技術的能力已經足以製造理論射程爲5千5百公里至1萬1千公里的導彈。這使朝鮮得以將其對美國本土進行核打擊的威脅付諸實施。
美韓研究所的報告指出，“幾乎可以肯定”朝鮮的KN-08導彈目前還不能使用，至少需要再試驗一次。報告說，儘管如此，考慮到導彈模型展示的先進程度以及最近衛星照片顯示朝鮮主要導彈發射場有所改進，這種試驗隨時可能進行。
