US believes North Korea ‘oversells’ its missile threat, leaked document shows
- Pyongyang has been parading ‘nonoperational systems to portray a larger, more capable missile force than it possesses’, said document marked ‘Secret’
- A many as 11 Hwasong-17s, North Korea’s largest intercontinental ballistic missile, were seen in imagery published by state media back in February
More than 50 documents labelled “Secret” and “Top Secret” first appeared on social media sites in March and supposedly reveal details of military capabilities of some US allies and adversaries.
While the Pentagon has not vouched for the authenticity of each of the documents, it said on Monday there appeared to have been an “unauthorised disclosure of classified material”. It said that photos appear to show documents similar in format to those used to provide daily updates to senior leaders, though some appear altered.
The documents’ authenticity has not been independently verified.
A brief, one-paragraph observation in one of the documents marked “Secret” noted that North Korea had paraded an unprecedented number of ICBM-class launchers at an event on February 8 that were “most likely carrying nonoperational systems”.
The Pentagon and North Korea’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the North Korea part of the documents.