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Indeed. But also, rockets are just plain difficult to get right. It's daft to assume no progress will be made but right now there just isn't much of a threat.
Well_is_it-
Indeed. But also, rockets are just plain difficult to get right. It's daft to assume no progress will be made but right now there just isn't much of a threat.
I'm not sure what you're basing that on. Rockets are indeed difficult, and the North Koreans have become good at them through sustained development effort spanning decades.
They are a poor country, but they spend approx. 25% of their GDP on defence, and much of that is on their nuclear weapons programs. To put it in context, they are spending a similar (adjusted) amount to what France was spending on nuclear weapons in the 1960's, a time when France fielded multiple successful nuclear weapons systems, (including missiles).
I really would urge you to examine any beliefs that, because something is difficult, the North Koreans are incapable of doing it. This blog post is a good read, if you haven't seen it already. The author is also worth following on Twitter on matters of nuclear proliferation, and general atomic trivia.
rodan
Possibly the same as for the previous blithe statements to the effect that 'they're years, no decades, from making a workable ICBM', or 'yes they've made an atomic device but that's a very different thing from making a warhead that'll fit on a missile'.
They have been regularly dismissed as incompetent, comedy Asian villains, and they have made steady progress regardless. Yet the pronouncements about how they can't possibly build a re-entry vehicle or guidance system continue.
This is old tech. It's been around since the 1950's, and it's do-able if they haven't already done it. The talking down of their capabilities comes from the same place as misplaced faith in the US' ABM capability (which, due to decades of cancelled and underfunded attempts is not worth shit) - a comfort blanket and undertones of racial superiority.