N Korea’s latest test warns US

SEOUL – North Korea has conducted an unprecedented seven weapons tests so far this month, including launching its most powerful missile since 2017, which is powerful enough to put the US territory of Guam in range.

North Korea confirmed it had fired its most powerful missile since 2017, capping a month-long blitz of launches that has raised the spectre of leader Kim Jong Un restarting nuclear tests. The nuclear-armed country has also threatened to restart testing of long-range and nuclear weapons.

The evaluation test-fire of Hwasong 12-type ground-to-ground intermediate- and long-range ballistic missile was conducted on January 30, the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) reported.

Under a plan of the Academy of Defence Science, the Second Economy Commission and other institutions concerned, the test-fire was aimed to selectively evaluate the missile being produced and deployed and to verify the overall accuracy of the weapon system, according to the report.

“It was conducted by the highest-angle launch system from the northwestern part of the country toward the waters of the East Sea of Korea in consideration of the security of neighbouring countries,” KCNA reported. It confirmed the accuracy, security and effectiveness of the operation of the Hwasong 12-type weapon system under production, the report said.

Pyongyang conducted a record seven weapons tests in January, the most ever in a calendar month, as it threatened to abandon a self-imposed moratorium on launching long-range and nuclear weapons, blaming US ‘hostile’ policy for forcing its hand.

North Korean state media said on January 31 that the country had test-fired a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile, last launched in 2017.

Such tests had been put on hold while leader Kim Jong Un embarked on high-level negotiations with then-US president Donald Trump, but talks collapsed in 2019 and have been stalled ever since.

Pyongyang has begun the year by flexing its military muscle, but what exactly have they got?

A look at North Korea’s expanding arsenal:

Cruise missiles

Cruise missiles are jet-propelled and fly at a lower altitude than more sophisticated ballistic missiles.

North Korea has an array of short-, medium- and long-range cruise missiles. Unlike their ballistic counterparts, the country is not banned from testing them under current UN sanctions.

A cruise missile tested on January 25 had a range of 1,800 kilometres (1,120 miles), Pyongyang said, putting South Korea and much of Japan within range.

Intermediate-range ballistic missiles

Intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), which are rocket-propelled for the first stage of flight, have a range of about 3,000-5,500 kilometres (1,800-3,400 miles).

North Korea’s main IRBM is called the Hwasong-12, a missile powerful enough to hit the US territory of Guam. This is what it test-fired on Sunday, January 30.

Pyongyang first successfully tested the Hwasong-12 in May 2017.

North Korea is banned from testing all ballistic missiles under current UN Security Council sanctions.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles

Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM) have a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres (3,400 miles) and are primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery.

North Korea’s main ICBM is called the Hwasong-15, a missile capable of reaching Alaska on the US continental mainland.

It first claimed to have successfully tested the weapon on July 4, 2017 — a gift for the “American bastards” announced on US Independence Day.

Submarine-launched ballistic missile

A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) can be launched from a submarine.

Proven SLBM capability would take the North’s arsenal to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and a second-strike capability in the event of an attack.

North Korea’s operational SLBM is called the Pukguksong-3, with an estimated range of 1,900 kilometres (1,181 miles). Last year, it announced a successful test of a new version of the missile. But Pyongyang’s exact sea-based launch capabilities remain unclear. Previous tests were carried out from older vessels, including from a submerged platform, rather than an actual submarine.

Hypersonic missiles

Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds of at least Mach 5 — five times the speed of sound — and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.

Depending on their design, analysts say these missiles can carry both conventional and nuclear warheads.

After three tests, one in September 2021, and two this month, North Korea said it had completed the final verification of its first hypersonic missile.

Russia is typically seen as the world leader in this technology, although the US and China have also tested hypersonic missiles.

Nuclear weapons

A nuclear weapon derives its destructive force from a nuclear reaction. All such weapons are banned under international law.

Only five countries, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are officially recognised as possessing nuclear weapons and are members of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

Other countries, including India, Israel and Pakistan, are known to possess nuclear weapons but have never joined the NPT.

North Korea is also believed to have a nuclear weapon. It conducted its sixth, most powerful nuclear test in September 2017.

Estimates of that device’s explosive power, or yield, ranged from 100 to 370 kilotons, far exceeding the 15 kilotons of the US bomb that devastated Hiroshima in 1945.

With input from AFP and Xinhua