N. Korea missiles called fakes

Weapons put on display are ‘mock-ups’; nation’s capabilities questioned.

TOKYO — Analysts who have studied photos of a half-dozen ominous new North Korean missiles showcased recently at a lavish military parade say they were fakes, and not very convincing ones, casting further doubt on the country’s claims of military prowess.

Since its recent rocket launch failure, Pyongyang’s top military leaders have made several boastful statements about its weapons capabilities.

But the weapons displayed April 15 appear to be a mishmash of liquid-fuel and solid-fuel components that could never fly together. Undulating casings on the missiles suggest the metal is too thin to withstand flight. Each missile was slightly different from the others, though all were supposedly the same make. They don’t fit the launchers they were carried on.

“There is no doubt that these missiles were mockups,” Markus Schiller and Robert Schmucker, of Germany’s Schmucker Technologie, wrote in a paper posted recently on the website Armscontrolwonk.com that listed those discrepancies. “It remains unknown if they were designed this way to confuse foreign analysts, or if the designers simply did some sloppy work.”

The missiles were loaded onto the largest mobile launch vehicles North Korea has ever unveiled. Pyongyang gave them special prominence by presenting them at the end of the parade, which capped weeks of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the country’s founding father, Kim Il Sung.

The unveiling created an international stir. The missiles appeared to be new, and designed for long-range attacks.

That’s a big concern because, along with developing nuclear weapons, North Korea has long been suspected of trying to field an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, capable of reaching the United States. Washington contends that North Korea’s failed April 13 rocket launch was an attempt to test missile technology rather than the scientific mission Pyongyang claims.

But after poring over closeup photos of the missiles, Schiller and Schmucker, whose company has advised NATO on missile issues, argue the mockups indicate North Korea is a long way from having a credible ICBM.

“There is still no evidence that North Korea actually has a functional ICBM,” they concluded, adding that the display was a “dog and pony show” suggesting North Korea may not be making serious progress toward its nuclear-tipped ICBM dreams.

North Korea’s four ICBM launches since 1998 have all ended in failure.