North Korea on Wednesday once again rocked the Korean peninsula as well as the world launching what it said was its most powerful weapon yet.
The weapon in question was an intercontinental ballistic missile; one that experts suggested could reach Washington DC in the United States of America, effectively putting the entire country under threat. Following the launch, Pyongyang proclaimed as much, saying it was now a full nuclear force and that it had the ability to target mainland US.
The missile launch was met with swift international condemnation with the US, one of the harshest critics of the Kim Jong-un regime in North Korea, saying the test had brought Washington and Pyongyang “closer” to a war that the Donald Trump administration did not want.
On the other hand, China, often seen as North Korea’s friend, reiterated the China-Russia proposal for North Korea to suspend all nuclear and missile tests and for the US and South Korea to suspend all military exercises.
Meanwhile, the first images of the new missile, which North Korea called Hwasong-15, are out after being released by Pyongyang itself.
In the photos, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un makes a rare appearance; he is seen celebrating with other officials after which he reportedly “declared with pride” North Korea has realized the “great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force”, according to a statement.
Perhaps one of the most iconic photos from the lot released by North Korea is that of Kim Jong-un smoking a cigarette and gazing up at the sky as his missile, presumably, completes its successful launch.
The news agency Associated Press spoke to rocket experts to get their initial assessment of the North Korean missile. Here is the AP’s analysis report, reproduced verbatim and unedited:
THE MISSILE
The North’s new missile appears to be significantly bigger than the Hwasong-14 ICBM it tested twice in July. Note how it dwarfs North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who stands about 170 centimeters (5 feet 7 inches) tall. In a tweet just after the photos were published, Michael Duitsman, a researcher at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies in Monterey, California, said: “This is very big missile … And I don’t mean ‘Big for North Korea.’
Only a few countries can produce missiles of this size, and North Korea just joined the club.” Size is important because a missile targeting the United States would have to carry a lot of fuel. Duitsman also suggested the new ICBM appears to have a different engine arrangement and improved steering.
THE LAUNCHER
North Korea boasted repeatedly in its announcement of the launch Wednesday that the Hawasong-15 was fired from a domestically made erector-launcher vehicle. It’s photos back that up. Being able to make its own mobile launch vehicles, called TELs, frees the North from the need to get them from other countries, like China, which is crucial considering the tightening of international sanctions that Pyongyang faces. TELs make it easier to move missiles around and launch them from remote, hard-to-predict locations. That makes finding and destroying the Hawasong-15 before a launch more difficult.
THE PAYLOAD
North Korea claims the Hwasong-15 can carry a “super-heavy” nuclear payload to any target in the mainland United States. The re-entry vehicle, that nose cone in the photo, does indeed look quite large.
But the heavier the load the shorter the range. Michael Elleman, a leading missile expert, has suggested in the respected 38 North blog that Hwasong-15’s estimated 13,000-kilometer (8,100 miles) range assumes a payload of around 150 kilograms (330 pounds), which is probably much lighter than any real nuclear payload the North can produce.
To get to the West Coast, the North needs to keep that weight down to 500 kilograms (1,100 pounds). Whether it can do that remains questionable. “Kim Jong Un’s nuclear bomb must weigh less than 350 kilograms (800 pounds) if he expects to strike the western edges of the US mainland,” Elleman estimated. “A 600-kilogram (1,300-pound) payload barely reaches Seattle.”
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