Thomson Reuters
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspects the intercontinental ballistic missile Hwasong-14 in this undated photo released by KCNA.
North Korea shocked the world with a July 4 launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, but according to a new analysis done by Breaking Defense, the missile is basically useless.
While the missile did demonstrate a much longer range than needed to be considered an ICBM, authors Ralph Savelsberg and James Kiessling compared it to other ICBMs and found it much too small to deliver a meaningful payload at important ranges.
Compared to the vehicle North Korea has used to launch satellites, the country's ICBM - called the KN-14 or Hwasong-14 - is about half as long and significantly thinner. They conclude that the KN-14 can't really carry a big payload like satellite launch vehicles, but that the satellite launch vehicles can't withstand being carted around like the KN-14 can.
Additionally, the US shouldn't count on the North Koreans to accurately target cities. At full range, the authors suggest the KN-14 would only be able to land within about 19 miles of a target.
While North Korea has demonstrated the technology requisite to large a land warhead on the US mainland, the KN-14 simply wasn't it.