Yuri Solomonov, one of Russia’s leading experts on missile technology, has warned both the Russian Defense Ministry and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that North Korea has already secured basic technology to construct functional Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles (ICBMs).
Solomonov claimed that North Korea can already make ICBMs had they access to necessary finances to proceed with such a program. As a participant in Russian ICBM development in the 1970s and 1980s, Solomonov is regarded as the most prominent Russian missile technology expert.
In an interview with the Kommersant, a Russian newspaper, he insisted that both Iran and North Korea have the technology to produce a functioning ICBM.
While noting that the quality of the missile may not be able to match those of the U.S. or Russia for another decade or more, the expert warned that the missiles will be able to transport a warhead 8,000 to 10,000 km. This means that the nuclear arsenal will be able to reach as far as the continental U.S.
Even U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates warned earlier this year that North Korea will become a direct threat to the U.S. within few years by developing ICBMs.
Currently, North Korea’s missiles have a range of approximately 5,400 km to 6,700 km. If it continues to push ahead with the nuclear program despite international condemnation, North Korea may come to threaten the world in the near future.