North Korea says it has tested its “most powerful” missile yet

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By Kelly Ng and Jan McKenzie Singapore and Seoul Apr 14, 2023 04:08 GMT

Updated 1 hour ago

Image source, Getty Images

photo caption,

This is the first time that North Korea has test-fired a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile

North Korea said it had tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile – the “most powerful” missile yet.

Thursday’s launch, which prompted a brief evacuation order in Japan, was hailed by state media as a “remarkable success”.

Solid-fuel missiles can be launched more quickly than liquid-fueled missiles, making them more difficult to intercept. But analysts say they are not without drawbacks.

South Korea insists that North Korea will need more time to develop a fully operational solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

This is the first time the North has tested a solid-fuel ICBM after years of testing short-range solid-fuel missiles. It has tested several ICBMs, but they are powered by liquid fuel, which must be fueled immediately prior to launch—a process that can take hours.

Experts describe this breakthrough in Pyongyang’s weapons program as having solid-fuel ICBMs come ready to fuel, and thus would enable North Korea to strike the United States with far less warning.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said on Friday that the technology was not new, and described Thursday’s North Korean test as an “intermediate step” in developing a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile system.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who oversaw the test with his daughter, wife and sister, reportedly said the test would make competitors “suffer with great fear and anxiety”.

He also said that the experimental weapon, known as the Hwasong-18, supports North Korea’s aggressive military strategy.

The launch Thursday morning was primarily intended to “confirm the performance of high-thrust solid fuel multi-stage engines, phase separation technology and reliability of various functional control systems,” the state-run KCNA news agency said in its Friday report.

Authorities in Japan, South Korea and the United States strongly condemned the move, which comes days after news emerged that Kim had ordered his military to adopt a “more practical and offensive” approach to deterring war.

Analysts said that North Korea’s launch of a new, more powerful weapon did not come as a surprise.

“Given that North Korea has been testing large-diameter solid rocket engines for the Pukguksong series (a group of medium-range missiles, including submarine-launched ones) for several years, it is clear that since 2020, a test like this could have come Any time,” says Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California.

Long-range solid-fuel missiles may be operationally better than their liquid counterparts, says Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons specialist at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, but they are more difficult to maintain and store. They are more sensitive to moisture, temperature, and physical stress, and can degrade over years in storage.

This is an important week for North Korea as it celebrates Kim’s 11th year in power – the country tends to mark these anniversaries with displays of military progress.

North Korea is increasing its nuclear arsenal and building ever more advanced weapons. It also criticized the joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, accusing them of escalating tensions.

The latest missile launch also comes two days before the birthday of North Korea’s founding leader Kim Il-sung – the biggest annual holiday in the country’s calendar.

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