North Korea has missile that can hit US

North Korea has an untested ballistic missile capable of reaching the western United States, intelligence officials said tonight.

The North Korean missile is a three-stage version of the Taepo Dong 2, said Vice Admiral Lowell Jacoby, director of the US Defence Intelligence Agency.

It has not been flight-tested, Jacoby said, leaving some questions about the North Korea’s capability to successfully launch the missile.

CIA Director George Tenet, who joined Jacoby in briefing the Senate Armed Services Committee, also acknowledged the North Koreans have the capability to reach the western United States with a long-range missile.

Previous US intelligence reports have said such a missile probably could carry a nuclear weapon-sized payload across the Pacific Ocean.