Analysts estimate the weapon to be around 130 feet long and, equipped with a more powerful booster unit, capable of delivering a warhead more than 6,200 miles.
Unveiling the missile will raise new fears in neighbouring countries, already alarmed by Pyongyang's insistence that it will go ahead with the launch in mid-April of a rocket to put a satellite into orbit.
Washington, Seoul and Tokyo believe the launch is a covert test launch of a missile.
Analysis of the rocket, which is being prepared for launch at the new Tongchang-ri aerospace facility in the far north-west of the country, indicates that at 105 feet long it is identical in length to the Taepodong-2 missile that was fired in April 2009 and, with a range of 4,163 miles, is the most potent missile in the North Korean armoury at present.
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NATO Missile Defense for Europe
NATO has agreed to provide ballistic missile defense or BMD for all of Europe. This NATO BMD will protect NATO (European and American) military forces in Europe. It will also – for the very first time – protect the civilian population throughout Europe from ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction launched from the Middle East.
Much of this NATO missile defense for Europe – known as the European Phased Adaptive Approach – will actually be provided by the United States armed forces. This will include seaborne AEGIS missile defense on board US Navy ships in the Mediterranean, as well as land based radars and interceptor missiles.
This e-book describes how NATO missile defense for Europe will be organized and implemented.
