China has acknowledged the existence of a new intercontinental ballistic missile said to be capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads as far as the United States, state-run media reported Friday.
A government environmental monitoring centre in Shaanxi said on its website that a military facility in the province was developing Dongfeng-41 (DF-41) missiles, the Global Times reported.
The DF-41 is designed to have a range of 12,000 kilometres (7,500 miles), according to a report by Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems, putting it among the world's longest-range missiles.
It is "possibly capable of carrying multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles", the US Defense Department said in a report in June, referring to a payload of several nuclear warheads.
China's military is highly secretive, and the Global Times said it had not previously acknowledged the existence of the DF-41.
The original government web post appeared to have been deleted on Friday, but the newspaper posted a screengrab.
Chinese People's Liberation Army cadets conduct bayonet drills at the PLA's Armoured Forces …
It also quoted a Chinese military analyst as saying: "As the US continues to strengthen its missile defence system, developing third generation nuclear weapons capable of carrying multiple warheads is the trend."
http://news.yahoo.com/china-confirms-generation-long-range-missiles-report-044654927.html
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