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North Korea boasts of its new long-range missile targeting the U.S.
North Korea on Friday bragged of its recently tested new intercontinental ballistic missile, calling it βthe worldβs strongest,β a claim viewed by outside experts as propaganda though the test showed an advancement in the North's quest to build a more reliable weapons arsenal.
A missile launched by North Korea on Thursday flew higher and stayed in the air for a longer duration than any other weapon the country had so far fired. It signaled that the North has achieved progress in acquiring a nuclear-armed ICBM that can hit the U.S. mainland. But foreign experts assess that the country has still a few remaining technological issues to master before acquiring such a functioning ICBM.
On Friday, the Northβs Korean Central News Agency identified the missile as βHwasong-19β ICBM and called it βthe worldβs strongest strategic missileβ and βthe perfected weapon system.β
KCNA said leader Kim Jong Un observed the launch, describing it as βan appropriate military actionβ to express North Koreaβs resolve to respond to its enemiesβ moves that escalated tensions and threats to North Koreaβs national security. It said Kim thanked weapons scientists for demonstrating North Koreaβs βmatchless strategic nuclear attack capability.β
South Koreaβs military earlier said that North Korea could have tested a solid-fueled missile but Fridayβs KCNA dispatch didnβt say what propellant the Hwasong-19 ICBM uses. Observers say the color of exhaust flames seen in North Korean media photos on the launch still suggest the new ICBM uses solid fuels.
Before Thursdayβs test, North Koreaβs most advanced ICBM was known as the βHwasong-18β missile which uses solid fuels. Pre-loaded solid propellants make it easier to move missiles and require much less launch preparation times than liquid propellants that must be fueled before liftoffs. So itβs more difficult for opponents to detect launches by solid-fuel missiles.
In recent years, North Korea has reported steady advancement in its efforts to obtain nuclear-tipped missiles. Many foreign experts believe North Korea likely has missiles that can deliver nuclear strikes on all of South Korea, but it has yet to possess nuclear missiles that can travel to the mainland U.S.
There are questions on whether North Korea has acquired the technology to shield warheads from the high-temperature, high-stress environment of atmospheric re-entry. Many foreign analysts say North Korea also must have improved altitude control and guidance systems for missiles. They say North Korea needs an ability to place multiple warheads on a single missile to defeat its rivalsβ missile defences.
All of North Koreaβs known ICBM tests, including Thursdayβs, have been performed on steep angles to avoid neighboring countries. South Korean military spokesperson Lee Sung Joon said Thursday that a high-angle trajectory launch cannot verify a missileβs re-entry vehicle technology, though North Korea has previously claimed to have acquired that technology.
Observers say that Thursday's launch, the North's first ICBM test in almost a year, was largely meant to grab American attention days before the U.S. presidential election and respond to international condemnation over North Korea's reported dispatch of troops to Russia to support its war against Ukraine.
North Korea's reported troop dispatch highlights the expanding military cooperation between North Korea and Russia. South Korea, the U.S. and others worry North Korea might seek high-tech, sensitive Russian technology to perfect its nuclear and missile programs in return for joining the Russian-Ukraine war.
Associated Press writer Kim Tong-hyung contributed to this report.
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