By james art Thursday, October 31, 2024 | 7:05 p.m
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea on Friday boasted of its recently tested new intercontinental ballistic missile, calling it the “most powerful in the world,” a claim seen by outside experts as propaganda, even as the test showed progress in the North’s drive to build more reliable weapons arsenal.
A missile fired by North Korea on Thursday flew higher and stayed in the air for longer than any other weapon launched by the country so far. He signaled that the North had made progress in acquiring a nuclear-armed intercontinental ballistic missile capable of hitting the US mainland. But foreign experts estimate that the country still has several remaining technological problems to master before acquiring such a functioning intercontinental ballistic missile.
On Friday, North Korea’s Central News Agency identified the missile as the Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile and called it the “world’s most powerful strategic missile” and “advanced weapon system.”
KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un watched the launch, describing it as an “appropriate military action” to express North Korea’s determination to respond to moves by its enemies that have escalated tensions and threats to North Korea’s national security. It said Kim thanked weapons scientists for demonstrating North Korea’s “unparalleled strategic nuclear strike capability.”
South Korea’s military previously said North Korea may have tested a solid-fuel missile, but Friday’s KCNA announcement did not say what fuel the Hwasong-19 ICBM used. Observers say the color of the exhaust flame seen in North Korean media photos of the launch still suggests the new intercontinental ballistic missile uses solid fuel.
Before Thursday’s test, North Korea’s most advanced intercontinental ballistic missile was known as the Hwasong-18 missile, which uses solid propellant. Pre-loaded solid propellants make rockets easier to move and require much less time to prepare for launch than liquid propellants, which must be fueled before liftoff. So it is more difficult for adversaries to detect launches of solid-propellant missiles.
In recent years, North Korea has seen steady progress in its efforts to acquire nuclear-tipped missiles. Many foreign experts believe that North Korea probably has missiles capable of striking all of South Korea with nuclear weapons, but it does not yet possess nuclear missiles capable of reaching the US mainland
There are questions about whether North Korea has acquired the technology to protect warheads from the high-temperature, high-stress environment of atmospheric re-entry. Many foreign analysts say North Korea must also have improved the missile’s altitude control and guidance systems. They say North Korea needs the ability to put multiple warheads on a single missile to defeat its rivals’ missile defenses.
All of North Korea’s known intercontinental ballistic missile tests, including Thursday’s, have been conducted at steep angles to avoid neighboring countries. South Korean military spokesman Lee Sung-jun said Thursday that the launch on a high-angel trajectory could not test the missile’s re-entry vehicle technology, although North Korea has previously claimed to have acquired the technology.
Observers say Thursday’s launch, the North’s first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile in nearly a year, was largely aimed at drawing American attention days before the US presidential election and responding to international condemnation of the reported troop deployment from North Korea to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.
North Korea’s reported troop deployment underscores expanding military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. South Korea. The US and others worry that North Korea may seek high-tech, sensitive Russian technology to advance its nuclear and missile programs in return for joining the Russo-Ukraine war.
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Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.