Hawaii, Alaska contemplate coming into North Korean missile range

by Karin Stanton and Jill Burke, Reuters, July 6, 2017 (excerpt)

Disused military tunnels snake beneath the crater of Diamond Head, out of sight of the tourists lounging near the volcano on Waikiki Beach but very much on the mind of Gene Ward, a state representative from Honolulu.

Alarmed by North Korea's latest missile tests and claims that its newly developed intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) can carry a large nuclear warhead, Ward believes it is time to refurbish the tunnels as civilian shelters in case of a North Korean attack.

"We've had wake-up calls before but what happened on July 3 is shaking us out of bed," said Ward, referring to Pyongyang's latest missile test.

North Korea's state media said the missile reached an altitude of 2,802 km (1,741 miles), and some Western experts said that meant it might have a range of more than 8,000 km (4,970 miles), which would put Hawaii and Alaska within striking distance.

Americans from the Alaskan tundra to the tropics of Hawaii have had years to contemplate North Korea's accelerating missile program, which has generated both angst and shrugs given that the reclusive government's true capabilities and intentions remain unknown.

Ward, a Republican in a Democratic-majority state, said he supports reviving state legislation that would reopen the bunkers built by the U.S. military even before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 that prompted U.S. entry into World War Two.

The tunnels are among many military bunkers and batteries carved into Oahu as part of a buildup that began after Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1898 and continued through World War Two.

read … Reuters