U.S. Indo-Pacific Commander "North Korea Has Not Secured ICBM Reentry Technology"

North Korea has yet to demonstrate the atmospheric reentry technology needed to threaten the U.S. mainland with an intercontinental ballistic missile, Indian Pacific Commander Samuel Perfaro says.

In a meeting at the Brookings Institution, Perparo said the highest altitude of the ICBM test-fired by North Korea exceeded 7,000 kilometers, predicting that the entire U.S. mainland could be within range.

However, when asked if North Korea has secured atmospheric re-entry technology, he said, "We have not seen such capabilities, but we believe that North Korea continues to test-fire for this purpose."

In order for North Korea to actually threaten the United States with an ICBM, it must be able to re-enter the atmosphere of warheads as well as secure a sufficient range.

Perfaro said North Korea and Russia would receive submarine technology and missile propellant technology through military cooperation with Russia, and called the military cooperation between North Korea and Russia a symbiotic relationship that complicates the already dangerous situation.