North Korean missiles could reach UK within months, MPs warn
2 min read
North Korea is “almost certain” to have ballistic missiles within six to 18 months that have the ability to reach the UK, MPs have warned.
A report by the Defence Select Committee said Britain had a "limited" ballistic missile defence system, despite the "reasonable assumption" Pyongyang could target the UK already.
The group added however that an attack from the regime was “highly unlikely”, as Britain was not seen as a threat, describing Kim Jong-Un as “ruthless, like other Communist dictators before him” but “rational”.
The report said a "reckless" cyberattack, similar to the WannaCry ransomware attack which hit NHS hospitals last May, was more likely.
"It is a reasonable assumption that North Korea can already reach the UK with ballistic missiles which could potentially carry nuclear warheads," the report said.
"In any case, it is almost certain to be able to do so within the next six to 18 months if it continues its programme at the current rate of development."
However the MPs said North Korea had not yet demonstrated it could equip its missiles with nuclear warheads, and said a nuclear strike against the UK was "highly unlikely".
"We do not believe that North Korea regards the UK as a primary target—its goal being to threaten the United States mainland (although also bringing the UK within range of its missiles) in the event of hostilities on the Peninsula," they said.
But they added: "The UK has only a limited ballistic missile defence (BMD) capability, however, if North Korea decided to launch a missile at the UK."
Committee chairman Julian Lewis said the threats posed by North Korea were "typical of the new and intensifying dangers confronting the UK".
He added that there was a cross-party consensus that Britain needed to “invest much more than the NATO minimum of 2% of GDP”.
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