SINGAPORE — The U.S. military intelligence community is worried that North Korea is developing the skills and techniques needed to fit a nuclear warhead to a ballistic missile.
If the North Korean regime were able to achieve this feat, it would give Pyongyang a more credible nuclear strike capability — a step that would deeply alarm Japan and South Korea.
It would also hasten moves, in cooperation with the United States, to build regional defenses against ballistic missiles. Japan and the U.S. are already working together to build the shield. Australia's Labor Party has been reluctant to join, doubting that the technology would work. But key parts of the system have been brought into operation after extensive testing.