president trump s words this morning after north korea carried out one of its most provocative missile tests yet, this time over japanese territory into the pacific ocean. prompting many to take cover. the white house warning again today, all options are on the table. nbc s hans nichols has been following all this out of the pentagon. what do we know about the missiles that were fired? how were they fired? were they truck-based, permanently based? what do we know? we know they were mobile launchers, fired from around pyongyang, giving you an indication that maybe the north koreans want to do something slightly differently. normally they fire them from military bases. military officials think this was a solid-fuel missile, the so-called kn-17 what the north koreans called the hwasong 12.
verify line. they look at kim jong-un s actions, not necessarily his rhetoric, his actions, they have seen through satellites that they re moving around these kn-17, these mobil missile launchers. these potentially can be launched quickly in part because they have solid fuel. now, we asked secretary mattis earlier today, a group of reporters asked them what he thought about his latest statement. he didn t address that. he did say the united states is prepared for any conflict, have a listen to what he had to say. here at the pentagon, we re part of the cen continual of our nation. and we stand ready to defend it. everyone is monitoring, taking a look at what is on the historical calendar, if there are any big celebrations, big holidays coming up in north korea, as they continue to look at surveillance. that is notably when they fire these missiles. it s also notable that the u.s. and south korea are scheduled to
u.s. military generally considers something that flies 6400 miles is considered an intercontinental ballistic missile. obviously the whole world has close eyes on north korea and their nuclear capability. it s believed they have a dozen or so nuclear weapons. what do we know about their ability to put that kind of a warhead on this kind of a missile? so what we know is that they haven t demonstrated that capability. i don t know if you would find anyone in the u.s. military at the highest levels who would say with confidence or certainty that they don t absolutely have that capability. i think that they re hopeful they do not, since they haven t demonstrated or tested it. but what people don t realize is, you know, this missile that they tested last night, it s a kn-17 with a reentry vehicle added onto the top. it s what the military calls a two-stage. some of these missiles that north korea is testing now are wider, they have a wider base. the miniaturization process isn t as diff
obviously the whole world has close eyes on north korea and their nuclear capability. it s believed they have a dozen or so nuclear weapons. what do we know about their ability to put that kind of a warhead on this kind of a missile? so what we know is that they haven t demonstrated that capability. i don t know if you would find anyone in the u.s. military at the highest levels who would say with confidence or certainty that they don t absolutely have that capability. i think that they re hopeful they do not, since they haven t demonstrated or tested it. but what people don t realize is, you know, this missile that they tested last night, it s a kn-17 with a reentry vehicle added onto the top. it s what the military calls a two-stage. some of these missiles that north korea is testing now are wider, they have a wider base. the miniaturization process isn t as difficult as some might think. they don t actually have to miniaturize the warhead as small as they have on the other missi
before by u.s. intelligence. u.s. intelligence will now classify this as a new north korean intercontinental ballistic missile, something brand-new to the inventory they haven t seen. why is that so important, of course, because u.s. intelligence tracking every move north korea makes. they ee trying to assess exactly what configuration this may have, how soon it could be able to actually launch and reach the united states, possibly alaska. what they now believe is that the salt light initially saw something called a kn-17. that s the big part of the missile that sat on the ground, liquid fuel. the satellite picks up the detail that that liquid fuel is pouring into that part of the missile. but at some point the north koreans attach a second-stage on top. that is the part that perhaps gave the missile the ability to reach intercontinental range.