North Korean state television on Friday showed images of the launch of the Hwasong-17, the army's new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that was fired on Thursday and is believed to have a range of about 15,000 kilometers.
Presenter Ri Chung-hee, always in charge of broadcasting the most important news for the regime, explained, wearing a traditional pink dress, that the North Korean Strategic Forces successfully launched the missile as a test from Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang.
Its introduction led to a montage accompanied by suspenseful music and slow-motion segments showing leader Kim Jong-un and two of the key figures in the missile program, the director of the National Academy of Defense Sciences, Jang Chang-ha, and the deputy director of the Department of Machinery, Kim Jong-sik, synchronizing his watches to get the missile out of the hangar.
Below is the deployment of the huge missile, which is believed to be the longest in the world (estimated to be about 23 meters, more than Russian, Chinese or US missiles that have such a range).
The eleven-axis mobile erector platform (TEL) is responsible for lifting the projectile and, after the countdown, firing it to the cry of “Manse!” (an exclamation originating in the Chinese imperial court and used in North-East Asia, which can be translated as “long live!”).
KCTV then reproduces the artifact's takeoff from different angles (including a high-altitude shot with a drone) and provides images taken from a camera installed in the missile and what appears to be the successful decoupling of the first phase of the shell before giving way to the celebrations of Kim and the rest of the military personnel.
Thursday's trial was the first of an ICBM since 2017 and contributes to increased tension in the region as it means for North Korea to break the moratorium that it imposed itself in 2018 to try to achieve a climate of diplomatic understanding with the US.
The North Korean regime drew up at the 2021 single party congress a five-year plan for arms modernization that is behind its current range of weapons tests (12 since the beginning of the year, a record number).
About 23 meters long
The images shown by the North Korean media amply showed the Hwasong-17, an imposing weapon about 23 meters long that seems to have the capacity to fly 15,000 kilometers, putting almost any point on the planet within range.
As part of the trial, Kim Jong-un stressed that North Korean troops “remain fully prepared for a long-term confrontation with the US imperialists,” according to KCNA.
Kim also stated that this new strategic weapon is an additional guarantor for “state security” and that it solidifies the country's “self-sufficient defense”.
The leader also spoke of equipping the missile “with incomparably superior military attack capabilities.”
This is a possible allusion to what analysts suspect; that Hwasong-17 could be capable of carrying multiple nuclear warheads (MIRV), which would allow different targets to be struck simultaneously with a single shell, making this weapon the most dangerous in North Korea.
KCNA highlighted that the development of the new missile has been carried out “in a short period of time” and that Thursday's test “clearly demonstrated that the essential elements of the weapons system accurately met the design requirements.”
“Operational reliability”
The text added that “operational reliability” in a theater of war is “guaranteed scientifically, technically and practically” through this test.
This essay has been the first in a North Korean ICBM since 2017 and greatly worsens the climate in the region as it means for Pyongyang to break the moratorium that it imposed itself in 2018 to seek diplomatic understanding with Washington.
It has already brought additional US sanctions, which late on Thursday announced punishments for entities based in Russia, China and North Korea itself linked to the regime's weapons of mass destruction program.
A meeting of the UN Security Council has also been convened today for the possible adoption of new sanctioning resolutions.
However, there are doubts about the support in this area of Moscow and Beijing, both with veto power, in the face of the climate of polarization among the body's permanent members over the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the current rain of sanctions that Russia endures as punishment for the invasion.
(With information from EFE)
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