North Korea says its test of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile, the Hwasong-18, was to “radically promote” its nuclear counterattack capability.
Leader Kim Jong Un guided the test, and warned it would make enemies “experience a clearer security crisis, and constantly strike extreme uneasiness and horror into them by taking fatal and offensive counter-actions until they abandon their senseless thinking and reckless acts”.
State media outlet KCNA released photos of Kim watching the launch, accompanied by his wife, sister and daughter, and the missile covered in camouflage nets on a mobile launcher.
North Korea has criticised recent US-South Korean joint military exercises as escalating tensions, and has stepped up weapons tests in recent months.
“The development of the new-type ICBM Hwasongpho-18 will extensively reform the strategic deterrence components…radically promote the effectiveness of its nuclear counterattack posture and bring about a change in the practicality of its offensive military strategy,” KCNA said.
Analysts said it is the North’s first use of solid propellants in an intermediate-range or intercontinental ballistic missile.
Developing a solid-fuel ICBM has long been seen as a key goal for North Korea, as it could help the North deploy missiles faster during a war.
Most of the country’s largest ballistic missiles use liquid fuel, which requires them to be loaded with propellant at their launch site – a time-consuming and dangerous process.
“For any country that operates large-scale, missile based nuclear forces, solid-propellant missiles are an incredibly desirable capability because they don’t need to be fuelled immediately prior to use,” said Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “These capabilities are much more responsive in a time of crisis.”
Vann Van Diepen, a former US government weapons expert who now works with the 38 North project, said solid-fuel missiles are easier and safer to operate, and require less logistical support – making them harder to detect and more survivable than liquids.
North Korea first displayed what could be a new solid-fuel ICBM during a military parade in February after testing a high-thrust solid-fuel engine in December.
The latest launch came days after Kim called for strengthening war deterrence in a “more practical and offensive” manner to counter what North Korea called moves of aggression by the United States.
The missile, fired from near Pyongyang, flew about 1,000 km before landing in waters east of North Korea, officials said. North Korea said the test posed no threats to its neighbouring countries.
South Korea’s defence ministry said North Korea was still developing the weapon, and that it needed more time and effort to master the technology, indicating that Pyongyang might carry out more tests.
– AAP
