A Russian nuclear expert has forecast that North Korea will be able to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) that can reach the United States in as early as five years.
 
Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti said that Vladimir Novikov from the Russian Institute of Strategic Research(RISI) in Moscow gave this projection while attending a local forum on North Korea and other security threats in Northeast Asia on Friday. 
 
Novikov assessed that the intermediate-range ballistic missile(IRBM) North Korea fired last Sunday represents a middle stage in its development of an ICBM that can reach the U.S.
 
The official said that if no measures are taken, the world will face a nuclear North Korea armed with a solid fuel ICBM in five to seven years.
 
He said if that happens, the situation will become more difficult to control.
 
He called the latest missile launch a "major military and technological progress."
 
He explained that in the case of solid fuel missiles like the one launched Sunday, launch preparations are quicker than liquid fuel missiles and are therefore more difficult to detect.
 
He also said solid fuel missiles are more maneuverable and more likely to survive an interception. 

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