North Korea Says It Tested New Solid-Fuel ICBM to Strike US
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(Bloomberg) -- North Korea said it tested a new type of solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile that could deliver multiple nuclear warheads to the US mainland, with leader Kim Jong Un on hand to see the launch of his latest weapon.
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“A powerful new missile, the ‘Hwasong-18’ intercontinental ballistic missile, which serves as a crucial part of the nation’s strategic military power, was tested,” the state’s official Korean Central News Agency said Friday. The missile is designed to serve as a key element of the country’s strategic nuclear deterrent against “potential invasion of enemy forces,” it added.
Kim’s regime fired off a suspected ICBM on Thursday that landed off Hokkaido, one of Japan’s main islands. The latest test served a reminder of a bevy of weapons North Korea has displayed in recent months to deliver a nuclear strike as it refuses to engage in disarmament-for-aid talks that have been stalled for years.
At a military parade in February, North Korea rolled five canisters for an apparent new solid-fuel ICBM through the streets of Pyongyang, showing off a future weapon that would be easier to deploy and quicker to fire off than its current arsenal of liquid-fuel ICBMs — giving the US less time to prepare its defenses.
A solid-fuel missile also increases the chance that it could be launched from a hardened underground silo with little warning. Liquid-fuel missiles in general take more time to prepare, giving off signs to spy satellites that a launch could be imminent.
“The addition of solid-fuel ICBMs to the missile force would make it a more credible strategic deterrent by providing a more capable, less vulnerable preemptive and retaliatory capability,” Joseph Dempsey, a research associate for defense and military analysis at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, wrote in a recent report.
While North Korea has demonstrated its missiles could fly as far as the US, there are questions as to whether the warheads would remain intact upon atmospheric re-entry and reach their targets.
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said it sees the missile launch by North Korea as an intermediate stage to develop a solid-fuel ICBM, adding in a text message sent to reporters that “more time and effort are required to complete the development.”
Kim also issued a fresh warning against the US and its allies, pledging to continue to advance his country’s nuclear weapons program against “any aggression and provocations,” KCNA said.
“We will make the enemy suffer from extreme anxiety and fear by constantly applying lethal and offensive responses until they feel a clearer sense of security crisis,” Kim said.
North Korea released photos of the launch via state media that will be gleaned for clues of the missile’s capabilities by the outside world. Early images show what appears to be a larger-scale rocket blasting off from near a body of water, with Kim’s young daughter on hand to watch.
The daughter, thought to be about 10 years old, has been at many of the state’s tests of nuclear-capable weapons over the past several months, showing there’s another generation waiting in the family dynasty forged in the Cold War and it will depend on atomic arms for its survival.
On Saturday, North Korea is set to celebrate the birthday of state founder Kim Il Sung, the grandfather of the current leader. The day is one of the biggest events on the country’s calendar.
The latest launch comes about two weeks before South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol travels to Washington on a state visit where he will discuss security on the peninsula with President Joe Biden.
“Kim wants to maximize this opportunity to compel the US and the international community into accepting his country as a nuclear weapons state,” said Soo Kim, a former Korea analyst at the CIA who is now a policy practice area lead at US-based management consulting firm LMI.
“Sophisticating his country’s weapons program and testing them — and the resolve of the US, South Korea and the international community — will remain on an upwards trajectory until Kim attains that status,” she said.
North Korea in recent months has ramped up pressure with new tests of systems for nuclear strikes and cutting off a communications link with South Korea installed about five years ago to reduce tensions along the heavily border. It has demanded a halt to joint military drills between the US and its allies in the region, threatening to unleash unprecedented action to the exercises.
The US push to isolate Russia over Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, coupled with increasing animosity toward China, has allowed Kim to strengthen his nuclear deterrent without fear of facing more sanctions at the UN Security Council. There’s almost no chance Russia or China, which have veto power at the council, would support any measures against North Korea, as they did in 2017 following a series of weapons tests that prompted former President Donald Trump to warn of “fire and fury.”
“Unless Washington puts priority to the North Korea nuclear issue, there is little chance to make any progress,” said Kak Soo Shin, a former career diplomat who once served as South Korea’s ambassador to Japan.
“Unfortunately, the US has no such intent due to its full engagement in the rivalry with China and the Russian invasion of Ukraine,” he said. “The only way to a breakthrough might be to make China put pressure or brakes on North Korea, which seems to be a remote possibility.”
--With assistance from Se Young Lee.
(Updates with details and analyst comments)
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