North Korea on Sunday successfully tested the launch of a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile for the first time. A missile with this type of fuel represents an improvement in the North Korean arsenal: its tank can in fact be kept full for long periods of time, and does not need to be refueled before launch, unlike a liquid fuel missile. Until now, North Korea had only tested missiles of the latter type.
An intermediate-range missile (IRBM) can cover distances of between 3,000 and 5,000 kilometres: the one launched in Sunday’s test traveled about a thousand, ending up in the sea between the Korean peninsula and Japan.
In April, North Korea said it had already tested a solid-fuel missile, but in that case it was classified as intercontinental missiletherefore capable of covering distances exceeding 5 thousand kilometres, more than an intermediate-range ballistic missile.
The tested missile serves as the first stage in the launch of a hypersonic missile (i.e. capable of flying at around 6 thousand kilometers per hour), then to give the initial thrust to a smaller and faster warhead, which can also be armed with a nuclear bomb. According to the North Korean government, the test also served to evaluate the in-flight maneuverability of the hypersonic warhead, which the country began testing in 2021. It is precisely the maneuverability of hypersonic missiles which allows them to more easily evade anti-missile defense systems, and leads them to be considered particularly dangerous.
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