Josh Smith

SEOUL (Reuters). – North Korea is closer than ever to delivering nuclear weapons anywhere in America with the resumption or long-range missile test.

North Korea launched the Hwasong-17 on Thursday, a new large-sized intercontinental ballistic weapon (ICBM) that was fired in a test. Kim Jong Un stated it was a demonstration of the country’s nuclear power and to deter U.S. military actions.

The test was the largest ICBM-related launch in full scale since 2017. Officials from the United States said that there were only two launches on February 17, which they claimed were preliminary testing of Hwasong-17.

According to Japan’s government, the missile can travel over 15,000 km (9.320 miles) and could be used against targets all around the globe.

Analysts believe that this range and the massive size of North Korea’s Hwasong-15 ICBM suggest North Korea intends to use multiple warheads to hit multiple targets, or to deploy decoys to fool defenders. The smaller Hwasong-15 ICBM from North Korea, which was tested in 2017, is capable of reaching any area of the United States but can’t carry a large payload.

“Since there aren’t any good targets farther away, this missile is likely about carrying more weight — in the form of multiple nuclear warheads,” said Melissa Hanham, a researcher at Stanford University’s Center for International Security and Cooperation (CISAC) in California. This makes U.S. missile defense even harder to attain.” 

Kim Jong Un, North Korean leader, has set a target to deploy an ICBM capable of reaching 15,000km with multiple warheads.

Ankit Panda is a senior fellow with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, which is based in the U.S.

U.S. officials predicted these advancements and were honored to be selected as the winners last year. Lockheed Martin (NYSE: Northrop-Grumman (NYSE:) To compete for a Next Generation Interceptor, (NGI), designed to destroy missiles from “rogue countries” like North Korea and Iran. Thomas Karako is the Director of the Missile Defense Project (CSIS)

He said that North Korea’s new missile gives them more options. Noting the increased range, he also noted that it could be used to fire at the United States via more indirect flight paths. This may confuse defenders.

Yoon Suk-yeol is the South Korean president-elect. He has promised to strengthen missile defenses in order to counter North Korean missiles.

‘CREDIBLE DETERRENCE’

North Korea’s “lofted” missile tests, in which the missiles are launched into space from a high altitude rather than being far away, have confirmed some aspects of its system. These include full engine burns, staging, and other elements. Joseph Dempsey is a defence researcher at The International Institute for Strategic Studies. He said that some elements such as the reliability and survival of the reentry vehicle carrying a nuclear warhead are not yet confirmed in the tests.

He said that “typically there would be many partial and complete flight tests across a full range of operational parameters before the system is accepted for mass production and service” and noted that North Korea has diplomatic and geographic constraints regarding long-range testing. Even limited success tests may still be sufficient to provide minimal credible deterrence.

To illustrate, reentry vehicles may be less able to withstand heat or stress from lofted test than normal attacks. North Korea claimed that it launched Thursday’s missile in a vertical launch mode to protect neighboring countries.

Rachel Minyoung Lee from the Washington-based 38 North program that monitors North Korea said Pyongyang seems determined to increase its influence so it can transform denuclearization negotiations into nuclear-reduction discussions.

“The message of the North Korean readout of yesterday’s ICBM launch is clear: North Korea will continue to develop its nuclear arsenal,” she said.

A MISSILE THAT IS TOO BIG

Experts already had a general idea of the Hwasong-17’s capabilities after it was unveiled during military parades or defense expos.

Thursday’s launch showed that Hwasong-17, which is a massive vehicle transporter, erector and launcher (TEL), has been launched from the 11-axle vehicles.

These types of vehicles are used for transporting and raising ICBMs by North Koreans, which then fire from mobile platforms. TELs allow missiles to be concealed until deployed, however Panda stated that the Hwasong-17 could pose serious operational challenges.

“There’s a reason that no other country has ever decided to deploy a liquid-fuelled missile that’s this big on a road-mobile launcher: it’s unsafe and operationally unwieldy,” Panda said, while noting North Korea seems to accept the risk. A silo might be more practical for a missile of this size but would make the North Koreans vulnerable to prompt preemption.

North Korea’s next move would be to build solid-fuel missiles. These are much more reliable and can be fired with little warning.