The ICBM Hwasong-15 was launched in Pyongyang, North Korea in November. It's said the missile, pictured, can fly more than 8,000 miles and reach Washington
New York Times: How U.S. Intelligence Agencies Underestimated North Korea
WASHINGTON — At the start of Donald Trump’s presidency, American intelligence agencies told the new administration that while North Korea had built the bomb, there was still ample time — upward of four years — to slow or stop its development of a missile capable of hitting an American city with a nuclear warhead.
The North’s young leader, Kim Jong-un, faced a range of troubles, they assured the new administration, giving Mr. Trump time to explore negotiations or pursue countermeasures. One official who participated in the early policy reviews said estimates suggested Mr. Kim would be unable to strike the continental United States until 2020, perhaps even 2022.
Mr. Kim tested eight intermediate-range missiles in 2016, but seven blew up on the pad or shattered in flight — which some officials attributed partly to an American sabotage program accelerated by President Barack Obama. And while the North had carried out five underground atomic tests, the intelligence community estimated that it remained years away from developing a more powerful type of weapon known as a hydrogen bomb.
Within months, those comforting assessments looked wildly out of date.
Read more ....
Update: How the intelligence agencies wildly underestimated North Korea's nuclear capabilities: Trump was told he had YEARS before there would be a missile capable of hitting the US (Daily Mail).
WNU Editor: The above New York Times report is pushing the narrative that the intel community is/has been shocked and surprised on how quickly North Korea's nuclear and missile program has advanced in the past two years. It also defends the previous administration by saying that President Obama did warn President Trump that North Korea was a major threat, and that if the White House had received proper intelligence, they would have acted differently. The problem with this New Your Times' report is that it is wrong .... the U.S. intelligence community has always been aware on how quickly the North Koreans were advancing in their missile and nuclear programs, and they did warn the White House in 2013!!!!! .... U.S. Intelligence Agencies Knew In 2013 That North Korea Was Capable Of Miniaturizing Nuclear Weapons (August 10, 2017). This was not an intelligence failure .... this was a political failure, and as I explained in this commentary, my gut is telling me that because the White House did not want to make the hard decisions on North Korea, they choose to ignore and/or disregard all the warning signs in 2013. This is probably the reason why President Trump is upset .... in his mind .... especially after being briefed as President-elect on the North Korean threat .... he cannot help but feel that senior Obama officials (and probably President Obama himself) knew over 4 years ago on what was happening in North Korea, but choose to ignore it.
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