Nuclear cat out of bag: North Korea may have nuke missiles

Nuclear cat out of bag: North
Korea may have nuke missiles
Adding fuel to the fire of an already tense international
situation, an unclassified Pentagon report not yet released to the public
suggests that North Korea can arm missiles with nuclear warheads. "North Korea
now has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles," the report
states.


North
Korea is expected to launch a missile shortly in a show of defiance against the
West. The administration says there is no indication that the missiles readied
for launch are nuclear-armed.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online):
This came to light after a House Armed Services Committee hearing this week.
Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colorado) began quoting from what he said was an
unclassified version of the DIA report, which has not yet been made
public.

The nation's top military officer, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs
of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey, appeared to be caught off-guard. The Pentagon has
tried to clam the tense situation over the past few days. General Dempsey's
reaction suggested that he was not pleased to have the DIA assessment made
public.

Lamborn, reading from the report toward the end of a defense
budget hearing, said, "They say, 'DIA assess with moderate confidence the North
currently has nuclear weapons capable of delivery by ballistic missiles.
However, the reliability will be low.' General, would you agree with that
assessment by DIA?" he asked

"I can't touch that one," Dempsey answered.
After some haggling, Lamborn reiterated the question to Dempsey.

"And
your question is do I agree with the DIA's assessment?" Dempsey
repeated.

"Yes," Lamborn responded.

"Well," Dempsey answered, "You
said it's not publicly released, so I choose not to comment on it."


Military officials say that if North Korea does have nuclear-armed
missiles, it could strike South Korea, Japan, or U.S. forces in Japan. They
could also strike Guam, but Hawaii and the mainland U.S. are out of the North's
missile range, according to U.S. intelligence estimates.

North Korea is
expected to launch a missile shortly in a show of defiance against the West. The
administration says there is no indication that the missiles readied for launch
are nuclear-armed.

In related news, Secretary of State John Kerry in
Seoul, South Korea said the U.S. would defend the world from North Korea. He
also warned that North Korea would not be accepted as a nuclear
state.

Kerry gave the strongest indication yet that military force could
be used to tackle the escalating crisis on the Korean peninsula.

"The
U.S., South Korea and the international community are united in the fact that
North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power.

"The rhetoric we are
hearing from North Korea is simply unacceptable. I'm here to make it clear today
that the U.S. will defend our allies and ourselves," Kerry
said.