WASHINGTON The discovery by American intelligence agencies that North Korea is moving mobile missile launchers around the country, some carrying a new generation of powerful rocket, has spurred new assessments of the intentions of the countrys young new leader, Kim Jong-un, who has talked about economic change but appears to be accelerating the countrys ability to attack American allies or forces in Asia, and ultimately to strike across the Pacific.

Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press
Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta in London on Thursday.
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The new mobile missile, called the KN-08, has not yet been operationally deployed, and American officials say it may not be ready for some time. But the discovery that the mobile units have already been dispersed around the country, where they can be easily hidden, has prompted the White House, the Pentagon and intelligence agencies to reassess whether North Koreas missile capabilities are improving at a pace that poses a new challenge to American defenses.


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