[Exclusive] "Range of the Korean Peninsula"... US acknowledges for the first time that North Korea is equipped with short-range nuclear weapons

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The US government has evaluated that it is possible to mount a nuclear warhead on a new short-range ballistic missile made by North Korea.

Opinions have been divided over whether a nuclear warhead can be loaded on this missile that has a range of the entire Korean Peninsula, but this is the first official recognition by the United States.

Many of the missiles fired by North Korea last year were new short-range ballistic missiles.

Today (27th), the first news, Kim Tae-hoon, a defense reporter, covered alone.

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This is a North Korean threat assessment report submitted by the US Defense Intelligence Agency and others to the US Congress on the 23rd local time.

Analyzing North Korean missiles, he pointed out that "the KN-23, which is called the North Korean version of Iskander, can strike anywhere on the Korean Peninsula with conventional warheads as well as nuclear warheads."

This is the first official confirmation that the US government can mount a nuclear warhead on North Korea's new short-range ballistic missile.

North Korea first unveiled the KN-23, which has a maximum range of 600 km during the military parade in February 2018, and has been test-launched about 10 times since May 2019.

Recently, a KN-23 launched from a train has also been developed.

The North Korean threat assessment report also cited external experts and pointed out the possibility of mounting a nuclear warhead on the KN-24, which is called the North Korean version of Atachams.

The maximum range of the KN-24 reaches 500 km.

South Korean and US military authorities believe that the KN-23 and 24 have already been deployed.

In addition, in the case of the KN-25, which is called a super-large multiple launcher, it can still only carry conventional warheads, but it has a short firing interval of 20 seconds, so it is concerned that it is powerful.

Among the mid-range missiles, the Pukguksong-2, or KN-15, which has a range of range from Japan, can carry nuclear warheads and conventional warheads like the KN-23, so it was pointed out as the most threatening to neighboring countries.

The report observed that the solid-fuel rocket motors tested by North Korea in December last year could be used to develop submarine-based intercontinental ballistic missiles, or nuclear SLBMs.

(Video coverage: Hwang In-seok, Video editing: Lee Seung-jin, CG: Choi Jae-young)