PYONGYANG, North Korea, Aug. 4 (UPI) -- North Korea is developing a submarine-based intercontinental ballistic missile that could strike the United States, the BBC reported Wednesday.
A report in Jane's Defense Weekly said the missile, which also could be launched from a ship, will "fundamentally alter the missile threat" posed by Pyongyang.
The missile system is based on the now decommissioned Soviet R-27 submarine-launched ballistic missile.
A companion land-based missile is thought to have been previously developed.
The magazine's report said the land-based system has an estimated range of 1,500 miles to 2,500 miles, while the sea-based system is believed to be capable of hitting a target more than 1,500 miles distant.
The most significant part of the new developments appears to be the sea-based missile, since such a system "could finally provide (the North Korean) leadership with something that it has long sought to obtain -- the ability to directly threaten the continental U.S.," the report warns.
Ian Kemp, the news editor of Jane's Defense Weekly, said North Korea almost certainly intends to add nuclear warheads to the missile.
