North Korea says record test was new Hwasong-19 intercontinental ballistic missile

North Korea flexed its military muscle with the test of a huge new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed Hwasong-19, state media said on Friday, amid international uproar over its troops deployed to aid Russia in Ukraine.

The launch on Thursday flew higher than any previous North Korean missile, according to the North as well as militaries in South Korea and Japan that tracked its flight deep into space before it splashed down in the ocean between Japan and Russia.

State news agency KCNA lauded it as “the world’s strongest strategic missile.”

While questions remain over North Korea’s ability to guide such a missile and protect a nuclear warhead as it reenters the atmosphere, the Hwasong-19, like North Korea’s other latest ICBMs, demonstrated the range to strike nearly anywhere in the United States.

“The new-type ICBM proved before the world that the hegemonic position we have secured in the development and manufacture of nuclear delivery means of the same kind is absolutely irreversible,” North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said while overseeing the launch, KCNA reported.

The launch, days before Tuesday’s US presidential election, drew swift condemnation from Washington and its allies in South Korea, Japan and Europe, as well as the United Nations secretary-general.

“The missile continues to underwrite the growing credibility of North Korea’s strategic deterrent capabilities,” said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, adding that Kim appeared specifically interested in communicating that message to the United States.

HEAVIER PAYLOADS

The Hwasong-19 will deploy alongside the Hwasong-18, which was first launched last year and is also powered by solid fuel, KCNA said.

Solid-fuel missiles do not need to be fueled immediately ahead of launch, are often easier and safer to operate and require less logistical support than liquid-fuel weapons.

“It can be stored and moved anywhere, allowing for excellent mobility, stealth and survivability,” said Kim of the University of North Korean Studies.

Photos released by KCNA showed a large, multi-stage missile launched from a canister carried by a transporter-erector-launcher vehicle. The agency showed photos from cameras that appeared to be attached to the missile, taking images of stage separations and the earth.

“The increased length likely means a greater fuel capacity, which directly affects thrust and potentially increases range,” Kim said.

But North Korea’s existing missiles already had the range to reach anywhere in the United States, and the Hwasong-19’s expanded capacity combined with larger payload section is more likely designed to be able to carry heavier, and potentially multiple, nuclear warheads, he said.

“North Korea may continue testing to see if, during the final reentry phase, the warheads can separate and each head toward individual targets,” Kim added.

The Hwasong-19 flew of 1,001.2km for 85 minutes and 56 seconds before landing in the sea off the east coast of the Korean peninsula, with a maximum altitude of 7,687.5km, KCNA said.