North Korea’s U.S.-range missile remains single prototype — analyst

Analyst Oleksii Yizhak of the National Institute for Strategic Studies shared the information on Espreso TV.

“In North Korea, such a missile exists nominally, and they have even launched satellite images. The problem with their entire missile program is that they do not produce missiles in series but make them one at a time. A missile is assembled and tested, then the next one is built, and it’s unclear whether it will fly or not,” Yizhak explained.

He added that for weapons to be effective, they must be serially produced and deployed. A single missile that is theoretically capable of reaching a target is not significant. While a small payload could theoretically travel a long distance, there is no guarantee it would actually work. Therefore, he does not expect the U.S. to react to these threats.

“North Korea claims the right to participate in collective arms control negotiations, including nuclear weapons, but this does not pose a direct threat to the U.S.,” Yizhak said.

• North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stated on September 22 that he may meet with Donald Trump again, but only if the U.S. abandons its demand to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear arsenal.