The South Korean military authorities have concluded based on evidence derived from retrieved fragments of North Korea’s Unha-3 long-range rocket that the North is capable of independently developing ICBMs with a range of more than 10,000km.
The Ministry of National Defense said today that its final analysis of the Unha-3 first stage, which was retrieved from the West Sea in the days following the successful December 12th launch, shows that North Korea has reached the point of being technically capable of developing such missiles without outside assistance.
According to the ministry, North Korea was found to have imported a number of parts for the Unha-3 from third countries including China and parts of Europe. However, none of them violated the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) and none were from South Korea.
An official from the ministry explained, “Even though they struggle to procure parts and advanced technology due to international sanctions, they have successfully completed the construction of an ICBM through experimentation and experience.”
South Korea plans to inform the UN and other international agencies of the outcome of its investigation into the contents of the debris, and this is likely to be used to help refine the sanctions regime.
