North Korea said it tested a Hwasong-12 missile and took pictures from space

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A compilation image shows what appears to be a “medium and long-range ballistic missile” test of the Hwasong-12, which the official Central News Agency said was carried out on Sunday, along with images said to have been taken from outer space with a camera on the missiles’ warhead. In this photo released January 31, 2022. Kuwait Central News Agency via Reuters

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SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea confirmed on Monday that it tested its Hwasong-12 medium-range ballistic missile on Sunday, according to the Korean Central News Agency, the first time it has tested a nuclear-capable missile of this scale. It has been launched since 2017.

The launch was first reported by South Korean and Japanese authorities on Sunday. Analysts and officials said the test appeared to include an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), which North Korea has not tested since 2017 when it suspended testing of its largest missile and nuclear weapon.

“The inspection firing test was conducted for the purpose of selectively checking the Hwasong-12 medium-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile and verifying the overall accuracy of this weapon system,” the agency said. North Korea said earlier that the Hwasong-12 missile could carry a “large-sized heavy nuclear warhead”.

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The agency said that the launch of the missile was carried out in a way that ensures the safety of neighboring countries, and that the experimental warhead is equipped with a camera that takes pictures while in space.

Pictures released by state media showed images from space of North Korea and its surroundings through the lens of a round camera. Analysts said North Korea first took such photos in 2017.

Leader Kim Jong Un was not reported to have attended the test, which was at least the seventh test launch in January and is one of the busiest ever for North Korea’s advanced missile program.

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Sunday that the launch takes North Korea a step closer to completely scrapping a self-imposed moratorium on testing its long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM).

Kim said he was no longer bound by the freeze, which included a moratorium on nuclear weapons tests announced in 2018 amid a flurry of diplomacy and summits with then-US President Donald Trump.

North Korea suggested this month that it may resume these testing activities because the United States and its allies have shown no sign of abandoning their “hostile policies”.

It is unclear whether IRBMs such as Hwasong-12 were included in Kim’s ban, but these, too, have not been tested since 2017.

That year, North Korea tested the Hwasong-12 at least six times, achieving three successful flights and three failures.

Controversially, North Korea launched the missile over the island of Hokkaido, north of Japan, in two of those tests.

In Sunday’s test, North Korea said it fired the missile at an elevated trajectory “out of consideration for the safety of neighboring countries”.

The agency said that the test “confirmed the accuracy, safety and operational effectiveness of the produced Hwasong-12 weapon system.”

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Additional reporting by Josh Smith and Jack Kim. Editing by Chizuo Nomiyama and Sandra Mahler

Our Standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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