The Hwasong-18 is North Korea’s first intercontinental ballistic missile that uses solid fuel, which could allow for faster deployment of missiles during wartime. It was first launched in April.
“The test-fire is a fundamental operation aimed at further development of the republic’s strategic nuclear force and, at the same time, serves as a strong practical warning” to opponents, the official KCNA news agency said.
The launch was Wednesday, which was reported at the time by militaries in South Korea and Japan The United States condemned him and leaders in Seoul and Tokyo, among others.
The United Nations Security Council, which passed resolutions banning North Korea’s development of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, will meet openly On Thursday to discuss the missile launch.
The US Central News Agency accused Washington of increasing tensions by deploying submarines and bombers on the Korean Peninsula and conducting planning for a nuclear war with South Korean allies, and said that the military security situation “has reached the stage of nuclear crisis in the post-Cold War era.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un oversaw the test, the KCNA report said, and said his country will take increasingly forceful measures to protect itself until the United States and its allies abandon their hostile policies.
It was “remarkable” that both Hwasong-18 tests of North Korea’s history appear to have been complete successes despite The country’s lack of experience with other large, multi-stage solid-propellant missiles.
How North Korea managed to achieve such an astonishing level of success with its solid-fuel ICBM remains a mystery, but Kim Jong Un would have few complaints, Panda wrote.
The longest test missile ever
The 74-minute flight time of the Hwasong-18 was the longest ever in a North Korean missile test, the agency said, adding that the second and third stages were flown on a high trajectory to a high altitude for safety.
“The shooting experience did not have a negative impact on the security of neighboring countries,” she added.
North Korea said the missile flew 1,001 km (622 miles) at an altitude of 6,648 km.
Japan said the missile fell into the sea east of the Korean peninsula, about 250 km west of Okushiri Island in northern Japan.
South Korea’s military said a US B-52 strategic bomber on Thursday joined military exercises with South Korea in the latest show of force after a North Korean missile launch.
Japan’s defense ministry said four of its F-2s and two US Air Force F-15Cs conducted joint air exercises west of Kyushu island on Wednesday to counter “intensifying national security environments” including a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile launch.
Images released by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) showed the Hwasong-18 missile launched from a container mounted on a multi-wheeled, road-mobile vehicle known as a Transporter Erecting Launcher (TEL), which is designed to allow missiles to be launched from unpredictable locations.
Colin Zwerko, chief analytical correspondent for NK PRO, noted, however, that Wednesday’s launch took place from the same spot outside Pyongyang where the first Hwasong-18 was tested, in a field commercial satellite imagery showed was purpose-built and likely reinforced with concrete underneath. . the lawn.
In the footage broadcast by the state broadcaster, dramatic music and a sound of a launch countdown played as the missile soared into smoke and flames from a camouflaged launcher.
(Reporting by Soo Hyang Choi; Additional reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by David Gregorio, Stephen Coates, Lincoln Feast and Alex Richardson)