North Korea yesterday test-fired its most advanced ICBM that has the potential to reach the US, extending a record-breaking number of weapons tests this year and triggering further international condemnation.
South Korea said the North fired an ICBM that used solid fuel, which makes missiles easier to transport and faster to fire than liquid-fueled versions.
Yesterday’s launch was the third time North Korea had tested a solid-fuel ICBM, after launches in April and July, which analysts said signaled consistent efforts to improve the technology.
Photo: AFP
North Korea had said the previous two were Hwasong-18 missiles, but did not immediately comment on yesterday’s launch.
The US, South Korea and Japan all quickly condemned the missile test, stating that it was in breach of UN Security Council resolutions and would make the Korean Peninsula less secure.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol ordered an “immediate and overwhelming” countermeasure, and called for a joint response with the US and Japan.
The Japanese Ministry of Defense said the ICBM had a potential range of more than 15,000km, which would cover all of the US. It followed a short-range missile launch on Sunday night.
“[The launches are] not only a clear violation of UN Security Council resolutions, but also a threat to peace and stability of the region, and we strongly condemn [them],” Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said.
The UN Security Council has adopted many resolutions calling on North Korea to halt its nuclear and ballistic missile programs since it first conducted a nuclear test in 2006.
However, China, a close ally of North Korea, offered no direct response to the latest launches and instead released a statement highlighting the deep trust between the two nations.
“In the face of the turbulent international situation, China and the DPRK have always firmly supported and trusted each other,” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) said after meeting an official from Pyongyang, using the official acronym for North Korea.
South Korea’s military initially said it had detected the launch of a long-range ballistic missile from the Pyongyang area yesterday morning that flew 1,000km before splashing down in the East Sea, also known as the Sea of Japan.
South Korea reported that the missile flew up rather than across, a method Pyongyang has previously said it employs in some weapons tests to avoid flying over neighboring nations.
Ewha University professor of North Korean Studies Park Won-gon said the latest ICBM was likely the Hwasong-18, adding that it would be a huge asset for North Korea, if and when it becomes operational.
“The Hwasong-18 uses solid fuel, so there will be no preparation time, and it can be fired immediately from a mobile launcher, and it can be seen as a weapon system with a practical ability to strike the US mainland,” Park said.
However, North Korea has yet to perfect those capabilities, Asian Institute for Policy Studies researcher Go Myong-hyun said.
“Regarding ICBMs, there are still many technical aspects that need to be supplemented, including securing the re-entry technology and multiple warhead technology,” Go said.
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