New nuclear threat? North Korea claims it has miniaturized warheads

North Korea claimed Wednesday that it has manufactured nuclear warheads small enough to fit on the head of a missile, an announcement that is likely to rachet up tensions in east Asia, particularly with South Korea.

 

According to Yonhap News, a spokesman for North Korea’s National Defense Commission said that the development of the alleged weapons was part of an initiative to boost Pyongyang’s self-defense capability.

 

“It is long since the DPRK’s nuclear striking means have entered the stage of producing smaller nukes and diversifying them,” the spokesman said, using the acronym of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “The DPRK has reached the stage of ensuring the highest precision and intelligence and best accuracy of not only medium- and short-range rockets, but long-range ones.”

 

If the North’s claim is true, it presents a fresh threat to the security of South Korea and Japan, as well as the United States. Pyongyang has previously claimed that it has the technology to build a nuclear weapon small enough to fit on an intercontinental ballistic missile, which could reach the U.S. mainland.

 

The statement comes days after North Korea claimed that it had successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile earlier this month.

 

Read More: New nuclear threat? North Korea claims it has miniaturized warheads | Fox News