North Korea has a created miniaturized warhead for its ICBM missile, US security experts warn

  • US officials believe Kim Jong Un has built a miniaturized warhead for missiles 
  • It would be able to transport nuclear weapons to a chosen target nation 
  • Defense Intelligency Officials say he now has 60 nuclear weapons in his arsenal
  • The latest development suggests he is closer to developing nuclear weapons than previously thought  
  • The US has more than 6,800 by comparison and Russia is believed to have 7,000 

North Korea has produced a miniaturized warhead for its intercontinental missile, bringing it closer to achieving its goal of developing nuclear weapons to hit the US with. 

Officials were uncertain if Kim Jong Un had been able to accomplish building the warhead but a July 28 report from the Defense Intelligence Agency suggests that he has.

It will fit in to one of the missiles he has test launched in recent months and can carry dozens of nuclear bombs to be dropped on its target.   

According to the report, officials now estimate Jong Un has 60 nuclear weapons in his arsenal.  

By comparison, the US is estimated to have more than 6,800 and Russia is thought to have 7,000.

Kim Jong Un has reported produced 60 of the weapons which will fit inside the deadly missiles he has been testing in recent months

Kim Jong Un has reported produced 60 of the weapons which will fit inside the deadly missiles he has been testing in recent months

On Tuesday, The Washington Post published details from the confidential report which details how the dictator is stepping up his threat against the West.  

'The IC [intelligence community] assesses North Korea has produced nuclear weapons for ballistic missile delivery, to include delivery by ICBM-class missiles,' it read. 

One of the bombs has a blast that is twice as powerful as the bomb dropped on Hiroshima in 1945. Since 2006, North Korea has tested five nuclear tests.  

It is not clear whether the missile warhead has been tested or not but experts say he is in a hurry to speed up weapons development in light of his increasingly precarous position on the global stage. 

It follows the successful launch of an ICBM last month that, if fired on a flat trajectory, has the capacity to reach American shores.  The US's missile defense systems in Alaska would be tasked with firing the missile, named Hwasong-14, down.

Jong-Un made a direct threat to the US this weekend after a set of crippling economic sanctions were approved by the UN Security Council on Saturday. 

The sanctions cut off a third of the country's exports, taking $1billion away a year from its $3billion economy.  

They were approved by the U.N. Security Council on Saturday and threaten to cripple Jong Un's economy. 

A test launch of the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile in North Korea on July 28. Experts say the missile has the capacity to reach US cities if launched in a flat trajectory 

A test launch of the Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile in North Korea on July 28. Experts say the missile has the capacity to reach US cities if launched in a flat trajectory 

President Trump vowed to remain 'tough and decisive' in his fight against North Korea on Monday 

President Trump vowed to remain 'tough and decisive' in his fight against North Korea on Monday 

On Saturday, the UN Security Council imposed a strict set of sanctions which will block a third of North Korea's export revenue. US Ambassador to the United Nations Nicky Haley is seen (right) next to the UK's ambassador Matthew Rycroft 

On Saturday, the UN Security Council imposed a strict set of sanctions which will block a third of North Korea's export revenue. US Ambassador to the United Nations Nicky Haley is seen (right) next to the UK's ambassador Matthew Rycroft 

Jong Un vowed to exact revenge on the US for advocating the sanctions. 

On Monday, state run news agency KCNA said the US would 'pay dearly' for spearheading it.

On Tuesday, it issued a statement which contained another threat. 

'Packs of wolves are coming in attack to strangle a nation...They should be mindful that the D.P.R.K.’s strategic steps accompanied by physical action will be taken mercilessly with the mobilization of all its national strength,' the statement, which appeared in The New York Times, read.   

Trump was not rattled by the threat.  'After many years of failure,countries are coming together to finally address the dangers posed by North Korea. We must be tough & decisive!' he tweeted on Monday. 

China fired dozens of its own missiles on Monday in a show of alliance with the West. 

The drill included the firing of missiles and according to the ministry aimed to hone the military's abilities to conduct coastal assaults. 

Last week, two US B-1 bombers flew over the Korean peninsula. They were escorted by fighter jets from the Japanese and South Korean Air Forces. 

 

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