North Korea Hopes Bigger Is Better with New ICBM

• North Korea announced this week that it tested a new long-range intercontinental ballistic missile.
• State media called the “Hwasongpho-19” “the world’s most powerful strategic missile.”
• Its size would likely affect its mobility during a conflict, experts say.

north korea It said it had tested the “world’s most powerful strategic missile” earlier this week, but experts say its size could limit its effectiveness in a conflict.

The intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) was launched on Thursday and flew more than 1,000 km (about 620 miles) in about 86 minutes before landing in the Sea of ​​Japan, the country’s KCNA state news agency reported Friday. It said it reached a maximum altitude of close to 7,700 km (about 4,780 miles). Japan’s defense ministry supported these figures.

KCNA said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un He supervised the launch of the missile, which he described as “Hwasongpho-19”.

Video footage reshared on X by North Korean state media NK News appears to show the launch of the missile.

Perhaps the most striking feature of the new missile is its size. It is estimated that at least 92 feet long — More than 100 feet longer than the U.S. LGM-30G Minuteman III ICBM.

Photos published by KCNA show the missile being carried by a massive carrier launcher (TEL).

Virginie Grzelczyk, a North Korea expert and Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at Aston University, told Business Insider that solid-fuel missiles such as the Hwasongpho-19 offer “potentially greater payload capacity, including the possibility of nuclear delivery.” warheads.”

“However, being quite large, the Hwasong-19 may face operational challenges regarding mobility in the event of a conflict,” Grzelczyk said. he said.

Edward Howell, a Korea Foundation fellow in Chatham House’s Asia-Pacific Program, told BI that “as missiles get larger, questions of effectiveness will always come up.”

“The Hwasong-19 missile can support a heavy warhead, but as the size of the missile increases, its mobility decreases,” he said.

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Before this latest test, North Korea last launched an ICBM test in December 2023, according to the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. North Korean Missile Test Database.

Japan’s defense ministry said at the time that the launch lasted about 73 minutes, traveled about 620 miles and reached an altitude of about 3,730 miles.

Howell said the latest test’s longer flight time showed North Korea had “improved the sophistication of its delivery systems.”

But the North likely still faces problems preparing such weapons for re-entry into the atmosphere.

Lee Sangmin, an expert at South Korea’s Korea Institute for Defense Analyzes, said: Associated Press “Obtaining re-entry technology is currently the most important goal in North Korea’s missile development, especially ICBMs.”

“But instead they keep increasing the ranges. This probably shows that they still don’t trust their re-entry technology,” Sangmin added.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to the Hwasongpho-19 test news on X, saying “the world is just watching” North Korea’s threat grows.

“With Moscow’s help, North Korea has improved its artillery and missile capabilities,” Zelenskyy said. he wrote. “Now they are learning modern warfare tactics. Thousands of North Korean soldiers are already near Ukraine’s borders, preparing to fight. And the world is still watching.”

It comes after the United States and South Korea held their first joint drone strike exercise in South Korea. Yonha news agency reported on Friday.

A military source told the press that the two countries decided to publicly announce the drills as a warning to North Korea following the launch of the ICBM test.