(Yuri Gripas/Reuters)The top U.S. military officer in the Pacific said Wednesday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is “clearly in a position to threaten Hawaii today” with a ballistic missile attack and that the Pentagon should consider adding new ballistic missile interceptors and defensive radar there to counter that possibility. “I believe that our ballistic missile architecture is sufficient to protect Hawaii today, but it can be overwhelmed,” Harris said. It is unclear whether North Korea will launch a preemptive attack against the United States or its allies, but U.S. officials are reaching an “inflection point” in which North Korea can carry through on repeated threats to do so, the admiral said. The Navy also sent the USS Michigan, an Ohio-class guided-missile submarine, to South Korea, and will have a defensive missile system known as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) operational in South Korea within days. The White House plans to host a private briefing on North Korea for the U.S. Senate amid growing concern over Pyongyang's nuclear program.

Source: Washington Post April 26, 2017 16:30 UTC