[Yonhap Photo]
North Korea hailed the "successful" launch of a new strategic intermediate-range ballistic missile with an improved solid fuel engine capable of carrying a nuclear warhead more accurately from any place.
Encouraged by a new system called "Pukguksong-2", leader Kim Jong-un ordered the development of a surface-to-surface missile with extended range, based on the test of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) in August last year, Pyongyang's state media said Monday.
With its new strategic weapon system, North Korea is now able to carry out a strategic mission accurately and swiftly in any place, Kim was quoted as saying.
The North's SLBM program has been a prime security concern in Seoul and Washington, though US experts believe Pyongyang is still years away from the operational deployment of a submarine carrying ballistic missile for wartime missions.
[Yonhap Photo]
"The test-launch of the ground-to-ground intermediate-range strategic ballistic missile Pukguksong-2, which is a new strategic weapon system of our own style, was successfully carried out on February 12, 2017," according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
The launch was aimed at testing a new high-thrust engine using solid fuel, a mobile launcher, and other technological advances in a new weapon system, it said, adding North Korea has acquired improved technologies related to a nuclear warhead, re-entry and guided flight.
After supervising the launch, Kim expressed satisfaction with the development of a new and powerful system to deliver nuclear weapons. It was North Korea's first explicit provocation since US President Donald Trump took office in January.
After being fired at a steep angle, the missile reached the height of 550 kilometers (341 miles) and flew about 500 kilometers, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said on Sunday.
Kim has vowed to launch more rockets capable of carrying nuclear warheads, claiming Pyongyang has acquired re-entry technology, despite doubts about its ability to miniaturize a nuclear warhead to be mounted on an intercontinental ballistic missile.
In its 2016 defense white paper, the South's defense ministry said Pyongyang has significant advancements in its ability to miniaturize nuclear warheads and enrich uranium. Last year, North Korea tested eight intermediate-range Musudans with an estimated range of more than 3,000 kilometers that could reach as far as Guam.
This year, North Korea threatened to launch an ICBM at a time and place determined by Kim who said in his New Year's address that Pyongyang had reached the final stage of ICBM development. US President Donald Trump vowed to stop Pyongyang from mastering ICBM capabilities.
Pyongyang could launch a road-mobile KN-08 ICBM and its advanced version after adding a yet-unseen reentry vehicle, John Schilling said last month in an article published by 38 North, the website of a US research institute.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
