The U.S. Department of Defense believes that North Korea could have up to 200 mobile missile launchers, according to an annual report submitted to Congress.
The number includes a maximum of 100 launchers for short-range Scud missiles, 50 for medium-range Nodong missiles, and 50 for long-range Musudan missiles. However, these are upper estimates, and totals could be much lower.
This is the first time that the United States has publicly speculated about North Korean stocks of Transporter Erector Launchers (TELs). At its maximum, 200, the report marks a more than two-fold increase on a previous South Korean estimate of 94.
Elsewhere, the report also contains data on other areas of North Korean military capability, most of which are broadly in line with South Korean estimates published in its “2012 National Defense White Paper.”
