(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) — If North Korea launches a nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) “Hwasong-15” towards the United States, the ballistic missile from Pyongyang would take only 33 minutes before it strikes the world’s major power.
A group of defense scientists from the Beijing Institute of Electronic System Engineering stated that North Korea’s nuclear ICBM “Hwasong-15” is capable of flying a distance of 13,000 km and can target any location in the United States.
“In a study conducted by a group of Chinese defense scientists, they conducted simulations of North Korea’s ICBM ballistic missile attack and found that the Hwasong-15 ballistic missile could target the central region of the United States in 1,997 seconds or 33 minutes.”
“In a study published in a recent Chinese-language defense journal, it was mentioned that if Hwasong-15 were launched from the city of Sunchon in central North Korea, its likely target would be the city of Columbia in the state of Missouri.”
The results of this study were recently quoted by the South China Morning Post.
It also stated that the headquarters of the US ballistic missile defense system would receive information about the North Korean ballistic missile launch approximately 20 seconds after the launch, according to the research conducted by Chinese defense scientists.
The study also suggests that the US will launch interceptor missiles about 11 minutes after the initial launch from Fort Greely in Alaska, and another interceptor missile will be launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California if the first interceptor missile fails to destroy the North Korean ICBM.
“The study by the Chinese defense scientists also suggested that there are ‘flaws’ in Washington’s ballistic missile defense system, making it difficult to identify and defend the country from external ballistic missile attacks against the United States.”
The two-stage “Hwasong-15” ballistic missile has an effective range of 13,000 km and the capability to target the entire United States, according to Tang Yuyan, who leads the Chinese research team.
Meanwhile, a physics professor at the University of Illinois, Frederick K. Lamb, acknowledged to the cable news network CNN that the US ballistic missile defense system cannot guarantee 100% security for the country if North Korea were to launch an ICBM ballistic missile attack.
“If North Korea launches a nuclear warhead ICBM, we cannot be certain whether our ballistic missile defense system will be able to handle it,” he said.
This study follows another study by another Chinese team regarding potential targets for their hypersonic ballistic missiles.
The team conducting simulations for hypersonic ballistic missile attacks is expected to target large radar facilities owned by the United States, as well as Beale Air Force Base in California and Cape Cod in the United States.
The study by these teams of American defense scientists comes in the wake of a series of recent ballistic missile launches by North Korea, leading to tensions between the two countries and their allies. — DSA
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