N. Korean nuclear missile capability? Pentagon divided on Pyongyang threat

This picture taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency on March 20, 2013 shows a self-propelled suface to air missile during a live military drill overseen by North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un at an undisclosed location.(AFP Photo / KCNA via KNS)

The new information came at a Thursday budget session of the House Armed Services Committee, where US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel claimed all the same that North Korea is still not able to attack the US with a missile carrying a nuclear warhead. At the same conference, National Intelligence Director James Clapper claimed that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's latest threats are simply a bid to "elicit recognition from the world, specifically the United States ... of North Korea's arrival on the scene as a nuclear power."Though serious questions remain about the nuclear threat posed by North Korea, a recently disclosed assessment by the Pentagon claims that Pyongyang has the ability to assemble a nuclear weapon small enough for launch via ballistic missile.

However, the intelligence assessment reports “moderate confidence” that the North Korean army has reached a certain level of technological threat, though Washington seems to be having trouble making up its mind: a Pentagon statement Thursday night following the hearing said it would be "inaccurate" to say North Korea has nuclear missile capability.

The assessment, which was prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency for senior Obama administration officials and members of Congress, was classified - though a brief one-paragraph portion appears to have recently been declassified.

Its existence came to light during the budget meeting, and The New York Times speculated that it would explain why the Obama administration recently fast-tracked a new anti-missile system to Guam and began work to strengthen missile interception defenses in Alaska and California.

However, Clapper maintained at the hearing that North Korea's 30-year-old leader is only pursuing Pyongyang's long-standing strategy of using threats to push the international community to provide aid.

Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.(AFP Photo / KCNA via KNS)

With current tensions running high, the idea that the North’s army could successfully deploy a nuclear tipped intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) certainly will not help to calm frayed nerves. Still, there are significant questions regarding the country’s missile program, which is believed to be capable of a maximum range that includes portions of Alaska and close to Hawaii.