It has maintained that the North hasn't yet acquired the technology to ensure the survival of ICBM warheads. Last month, South Korean Defense Minister Lee Jong-Sup also told lawmakers that North Korea likely hasn’t yet acquired the technology to place nuclear warheads on its newer short-range missiles targeting South Korea, though he acknowledged the country was making considerable progress on it. Still, Thursday’s test marked a “significant breakthrough for the North Koreans, but not an unexpected one,” said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
