North Korea's new missiles 'are fakes' "There is no doubt that these missiles were mock-ups," Markus Schiller and Robert Schmucker, of Germany's Schmucker Technologie, wrote in a paper posted recently on the website Armscontrolwonk.com that listed those discrepancies. It remains unknown if they were designed this way to confuse foreign analysts, or if the designers simply did some sloppy work. The missiles, called KN-08s, were loaded onto the largest mobile launch vehicles North Korea has ever unveiled. Pyongyang gave them special prominence by presenting them at the end of the parade, which capped weeks of celebrations marking the 100th anniversary of the country's founding father, Kim Il-sung. That is a big concern because, along with developing nuclear weapons, North Korea has long been suspected of trying to field an intercontinental ballistic missile, or ICBM, capable of reaching the United States. Washington contends that North Korea's failed April 13 rocket launch was an attempt to test missile technology rather than the scientific mission Pyongyang claims. But after pouring over close-up photos of the missiles, Schiller and Schmucker, whose company has advised Nato on missile issues, argue the mock-ups indicate North Korea is a long way from having a credible ICBM. "There is still no evidence that North Korea actually has a functional ICBM," they concluded, adding that the display was a "dog-and-pony show" and suggesting North Korea may not be making serious progress toward its nuclear-tipped ICBM dreams. North Korea has a particularly bad track record with ICBM-style rockets. Its four launches since 1998 - three of which it claimed carried satellites - have all ended in failure. North Korea also frequently overstates its military capabilities. On Wednesday, one of its top military leaders, Vice Marshal Ri Yong Ho, claimed his country is armed with powerful modern weapons capable of defeating the United States "at a single blow." North Korea made another unusual claim Monday, promising "special actions" that would reduce Seoul's government to ashes within minutes.