Kim Young-jin
Staff Reporter
North Korea and Iran represent an increasing threat to the United States with their development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) capable of reaching the mainland U.S., a senior U.S. defense official said Tuesday in Washington, D.C.
``The threat to the U.S. homeland from states like North Korea and Iran continues to develop,'' James Miller, principal deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, said before a Senate Armed Services Committee. ``Neither has yet acquired ICBMs that could reach the United States, but both are working to acquire and/or develop long-range ballistic missile capabilities, including space-launched vehicles, which include many of the necessary technologies.''
Pyongyang has deployed several long range missiles, most recently in April of last year, when it launched one that passed over Japan, under the auspices of a program to put a satellite into orbit. Though more successful than previous tests, its third stage did not separate properly.
The launch, along with its subsequent nuclear test last May, brought on tough U.N. sanctions, which in turn caused the North to walk away from the international talks on its denuclearization.
Miller, speaking before the committee on the Pentagon's recently released Nuclear Posture Review, said missiles from the North and Iran are part of a growing threat to the United States.
``Both Iran and North Korea present a significant regional missile threat,'' he said. ``The ballistic missile threat today is increasing both quantitatively and qualitatively and is likely to continue to do so over the next decade. Several states are also developing nuclear, chemical and/or biological warheads for their missiles.''
The Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Review released in February said that North Korea has ``successfully tested many technologies associated with an ICBM,'' and that it eventually ``will be able to mate a nuclear warhead to a proven delivery system.''
As for Iran, a Defense Department report submitted to Congress earlier this week projected it could develop a ICBM capable of reaching the continental United States by 2015, if it is given sufficient foreign assistance.
Miller said U.S. missile defense is currently focused on protecting against the threat of limited ballistic missile attack.
``The top priority for U.S. missile defense efforts is to defend the United States from the threat of missile attack by regional actors such as North Korea or Iran,'' he said. ``The United States does not intend for missile defense to affect the strategic balance with Russia or China.''
Miller outlined a multi-tiered approach to dealing with states that pose a ballistic missile threat.
``Through our missile defense programs, the United States seeks to dissuade states such as North Korea or Iran from developing an ICBM, and, failing this, to deter them from using it, or if necessary, to defeat their attacks,'' he said.