US has not yet seen N. Korea's atmospheric reentry missile capability: Indo-Pacific Command chief

The commander of US Indo-Pacific Command said Tuesday that the United States has "not yet" seen North Korea's atmospheric reentry capability, a key technology required for the recalcitrant regime to advance its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program.

Adm. Samuel Paparo made the remarks during a forum in Washington as Pyongyang has been doubling down on its quest to secure reliable long-range warhead delivery vehicles as seen in the test-launch last month of a new Hwasong-19 ICBM.

"Not yet. We've not yet seen that capability, but we just see continued testing towards that," the admiral said at the forum hosted by the Brookings Institution.

The reentry technology is required to ensure a missile's warhead can withstand extremely high temperatures during reentry to Earth's atmosphere. Despite repeated ICBM tests, it remains unknown whether Pyongyang has actually perfected the technology.

As military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow has been deepening, speculation has risen that the North could ask for military technology assistance, including ICBM-related support, in return for its troop deployment to support Russia's war in Ukraine.

Describing the Russia-North Korea partnership as "transactional" and "symbiotic," the admiral expected that Pyongyang could get submarine and propulsion technologies in return for its supplies of weapons and troops to Russia. He did not elaborate further.

"They are dangerous and transactional, and North Korea has contributed missiles in the form of KN-24 that have been directly used against Ukraine. They have contributed artillery shells that have been directly used against Ukraine. Now they have directly contributed soldiers in five digits," he said.

"I would expect coming back will be submarine technology and propulsion technology."

Paparo pointed out that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is "reforming" his country "in a new image."

"We've seen him eschew unification. We've seen him declare South Korea as impure, other ... not Korean," he said. "We should not ignore this sea change."

This North Korean move cannot be a good development for China, he noted.

"Because as North Korea proliferates, the PRC has declared that they seek the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and we respect that declaration from the People's Republic of China," he said, referring to China by its official name.

"We appreciate that. So it is a dangerous situation. It adds complexity to an already dangerous situation." (Yonhap)