Anchor: The Washington Post, citing U.S. officials, says that North Korea could cross the intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) threshold next year, which is two years faster than earlier predicted by the U.S. Defense Department. U.S. officials have also detected signs that North Korea is making final preparations for testing a new reentry vehicle, perhaps as early as Thursday.
Our Kim Soyon has more.
 
Report: According to the Washington Post, U.S. officials warn in a new assessment that North Korea will be able to strike the U.S. with a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile(ICBM) by next year. 
 
The Post cited a confidential assessment by the Pentagon’s Defense Intelligence Agency(DIA) as projecting that North Korea will be able to field a reliable, nuclear-capable ICBM as early as next year. 
 
The latest assessment shaves a full two years off the previous consensus forecast for when Pyongyang could strike North American cities with nuclear weapons.
 
The report said the new assessment was prompted by recent North Korean missile tests showing surprising technical advances by the country’s weapons scientists at a pace beyond what many analysts believed was possible for the isolated communist regime.
 
The DIA's conclusion means that by next year the ICBM program will have advanced from prototype to assembly line.
 
U.S. officials also say the regime's aggressive testing has allowed it to start industrial production, possibly within a few months.
 
The Post said that one of the few remaining technical hurdles is the challenge of atmospheric “reentry” which is the ability to design a missile that can pass through the upper atmosphere without damaging the warhead. 
 
U.S. analysts predict this milestone could be reached, beginning with new tests expected to take place within days, perhaps as early as Thursday, a North Korean national holiday marking the end of the Korean War.
 
U.S. spy agencies have detected multiple signals that Pyongyang is preparing to test a reentry vehicle. Analysts believe the July fourth test was intended to demonstrate range while the new launch will seek to validate engineering features designed to protect the warhead as it passes through the upper atmosphere and is then delivered to a distant target.
 
The Post article quoted officials as saying the North "could cross the ICBM threshold" next year. How Washington will respond is drawing keen attention.
Kim Soyon, KBS World Radio News

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