Truck raises questions about China's role in North Korea's missile program
By Larry Shaughnessy
After weeks of military analysts examining the latest North Korean rocket before and after its failed launch, the focus now has turned to a truck.
It's not just any truck. It's known as a "transporter, erector, launcher," TEL for short, and is designed to move a long-range missile into place, stand it upright and launch it from just about anywhere in North Korea. The truck was spotted in a military parade in Pyongyang last weekend with what experts say is a new long-range rocket on board.
The United Nations is investigating if the TEL came from China in violation of U.N. resolutions, a U.S. official tells CNN. The U.N. Security Council committee that monitors implementation of the sanctions on North Korea is investigating, the official said. The investigation was first reported by Jane's Defense Weekly.
Asked about the TEL during a hearing Thursday of the House Armed Services committee, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said, "I'm sure there's been some help coming from China. I don't know, you know, the exact extent of that."
Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies agrees. "There is no question that there is a long history in the past of Chinese and North Korea cooperation on missile technology."
But he cautioned that "until you can absolutely confirm that the system was made in China and is a violation of the missile technology regime, that does not mean that because something came out of China it's a violation of any of China's agreements."
Charles Vick, a missile analyst for GlobalSecurity.org, points out the truck may not have been made in China. "It may be an offshoot derivation that the Koreans built themselves, but basically it's the same design," he said.
Or China may have sold the truck to North Korea in the years before the sanctions were in place. "That is not clear, how it arrived there, but it's a commercially available tractor truck," Vick said.
As for the rocket/missile the truck was carrying. Few experts are willing to say what was seen in the parade was real, "I think you create parade missiles for public display that don't have all the external equipment that's on them versus the real flight vehicles."
Vick is convinced that the rocket, if there's a real version, would be an adaptation of old Soviet technology, not a new version of it's Taepodong-2. "This is a new design, a much more compact design."
Cordesman said there is much we don't know about the rocket. "There are times when none of us really know since we can't look inside the skin," he said. "None of us have the faintest idea. First we don't know if it's real, (and) if it is real you need to talk about reliability or the guidance system."
On that point even Panetta, who used to be CIA director, agrees: "I have to tell you we need, frankly, to get better intelligence as to exactly what those capabilities are, exactly, you know, what's real and what's not real here, in order to determine exactly what that threat represents."
But North Korea's recent failed launch demonstrated that it has made little progress in developing long-range missiles, according to the director of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.
Lt. Gen. Patrick O'Reilly told a congressional committee earlier this week, "Our experience has been you need a lot of testing and flight testing in order to validate and have reliance in the capability. They do not, and it's been evident every time they test. And their progress has not been made apparent in this latest flight test."
@natlsecuritycnn on Twitter
buy viagra online with free delivery buy viagra uk generic viagra with dapoxetine 160mg x 16 tabs http://xz-pharmacyonline.com/en/career-opportunities.html – viagra buy paypal ’
cialis low prices brand name cialis online purchase cialis australia http://loncialis.com/ – where to buy cialis in canada ’
cialis ordering discount cialis from india cialis cheapest prices http://sjcialis.com/ – cialis price ’
viagra cheap master card use paypal to buy viagra? viagraonline\\ https://canadianpharmacy-usx.com/organic.htm – free viagra ’
oryginal cialis Caverta buy cialis black au https://xz-pharmacyonline.com – Glycomet ’
cialis capsules canada buy cialis online australia pay cialis with pay pal http://cialmenshoprx.com/ – cialis sell ’
viagra onlone using viagra recreactionally viagra sample http://genqpviag.com/ – viagra no prescription overnight ’
viagra best price online viagra top online generic viagra http://llviabest.com/ – viagra/dapoxetine with overnight shipping ’
cheep cialis cialis supplier uk cialish http://cialijomen.com/ – overnight pharmacy 4u cialis ’
cialis 10mg how does cialis work cialis without prescriptions uk http://phrcialiled.com/ – cheapest cialis india ’
stockists of cialis purchase cialis australia cialis and dapoxetine http://mycialedst.com/ – brand cialis for sale ’
cialis drug plan where can i buy cialis 20mg order cialis in australia http://21cialismen.com/ – cialis daily ’
dapoextine viagra cialis and viagra taken together viagra online at boots http://acialaarx.com/ – viagra super force ’
generic viagra professional viagra from tijuana online viagra trusted viagra cialis trail pack pfizer viagra accepts visa cards \\cheap viagra if you have insurance how much does viagra cost buy viagra online\' cheap viagra for sale viagra with overnight shipping buy viagra without perscription buy viagra in canada toronto cialis & viagra viagra vs levitra vs cialis reviews viagra in usa
drug categories viagra cialis viagra and dapoxetine160 mg viagra no prescription canada next day shipping viagra trial size viagra overnight does walmart sell viagra? legal viagra viagra 4 sale taking viagra with irregular heartbeat viagra dosage mg viagra uk buy viagra buy viagra australia online no prescription buy viagra no prescription how much is viagra at walmart ?
alternatives to viagra men viagra with out presctiption viagra sample buy real viagra 365 pills no prescription viagra canada men on viagra videos viagra super active free shipping how much it cost viagra vgeneric viagra on line viagra questionarre where to buy no prescription viagra with discover card low cost brand viagra cheap prices for viagra viagra canada fast shipping canada pfizer viagra
cheapest fastest viagra viagra for women online australia viagra genric generic viagra? how do i get viagra without a prescription viagra 100mg gel http viagra chesp viagra buy viagra with paypal is viagra covered by insurance whats better viagra or cialis viagra for premature ejaculation viagra paypal how much is a viagra prescription with insurance viagrasales
best erectile dysfunction pills mail order pharmacy on line pharmacy
canadian drug pharmacy pharmacy online drugstore erectile dysfunction
discount pharmacy http://pharmacy-onlineasxs.com/ rx pharmacy coupons
canadian pharmacy viagra 24 hour drug store near me best drugstore eye cream
best drugstore blush best drugstore foundation for dry skin erectile dysfunction
best drugstore foundation for dry skin mexican pharmacy online mail order pharmacy
drug store news ce uk pharmacy medical pharmacy
mexican pharmacy best drugstore blush ed drugs
viagra pill cheapest viagra australia viagra rezeptfrei per nachnahme online bestellen
viagra in usa can you buy viagra over the counter in uk cheaper viagra
paypal viagra viagrapatent expiration date viagra in india for men
cialis vs viagra reviews cialis on sale cialis price
viagra new zealand without prescription what if viagra doesnt work another tablet viagra vs cialis