Towards an Assessment of North Korea’s Strategic Deterrent

North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test shows that it is determined to create an effective nuclear deterrent. But what is the likelihood of a single North Korean warhead successfully hitting a target in the US?   

North Korea’s latest ballistic missile test has put it back to the top of the international security agenda. Estimates suggest that this significantly upgraded system might have a range of around 13,000 km, if equipped with a relatively light payload. Even US Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis has acknowledged that Pyongyang could reach anywhere in the world with this system. There is no sign that North Korea is about to let the US strategy of ‘maximum pressure’ deter it fro

WRITTEN BY

Tom Plant

Senior Associate Fellow

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