AKIPRESS.COM - North Korea has not been able to fully develop an intercontinental ballistic missile, and it's unknown whether last week's launch successfully re-entered the atmosphere, the Yonhap news agency in South Korea reported.
The missile launched July 4 had the distance to reach the U.S. mainland — and marked the latest escalation of the North's nuclear program.
North Korea said it developed an ICBM that could ferry a large nuclear warhead, but it may have been an unsubstantiated boast, Rep. Yi Wan-young of the Liberty Korea Party said after a meeting with officials from the National Intelligence Service, according to Yonhap.
Yi also said North Korea is capable of conducting a nuclear test at its Punggye-Ri site at any time, but there was no signs of an immediate detonation, the news agency reported.
Analysts said a May 14 ballistic missile launch by Pyongyang successfully re-entered the Earth's atmosphere and marked a breakthrough for the North's program, The Telegraph reported.