North Korea could nuke the U.S. by this summer, if it wanted, the British Defense Ministry has warned lawmakers, several news sites were reporting on Friday.
The forecast is based on an assessment presented to the parliamentary committee in January, which suggested that North Korea could be nuclear-capable from as early as July 23, Newsweek reported.
At the time, British Defense Minister Lord Howe told a parliamentary committee that Kim Jong Un could command a full-blown nuclear strike on the U.S. within “six to 18 months,” and on Thursday in a report just made public the Defense Ministry said it stood by the dates, Business Insider reported.
The Ministry of Defense report noted that the nuclear strike was dependent on “marrying up the ballistic missile with the warhead,” which was currently a work in progress, The Express reported.
"Our judgment is that it will probably be six to 18 months before they have an ICBM capability that is capable of reaching the coast of the United States or indeed ourselves."
The report urged that British security precautions be strenthened.
"With its current rate of development, it is possible that North Korea can already strike the United Kingdom with an intercontinental ballistic missile potentially able to carry and deliver a nuclear warhead,” the report noted. "Within the next six to 18 months, it is almost certain to be able to achieve this capability.”
The British report comes ahead of President Donald Trump’s planned meeting with Kim, probably in May, although the intended outcome remains unclear for both sides.
Trump’s aim is to persuade Kim to surrender his nuclear arsenal under pressure of sanctions and isolation, The L.A. Times reported, while Kim was sending a message by last month’s visit to Beijing to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping that his ties with China were deep rooted
U.S. officials have said that, at the very least, the meeting could prove to be a widely covered, high-profile meet-up of two headstrong leaders but, if things go according to plan and both are prepared to engage, successful negotiations could be carried out.
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