North Korea claims launch with new type of missile: ‘Attack will be easier’

AFPPropaganda photo of Kim at the test

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 02:45

North Korea claims new technology was used in a missile test yesterday that uses solid fuel. If true, that would mean launches for the country could become simpler, faster and less conspicuous.

The missile was launched near Pyongyang, flew 1,000 kilometers and crashed into the Sea of ​​Japan, sparking warning messages on Hokkaido Island. According to North Korean state media, this has made “a nuclear counterattack more effective and a military strike easier.”

According to the propaganda message, the test was conducted by Kim Jong-un personally. He thinks it is necessary to expand the nuclear arsenal so that “an insurmountable threat instills extreme fear in enemies”. He says of his opponents that “their decisions will plunge them into despair”.

Breakthrough

North Korea has conducted about 100 missile tests in the past year and a half. The reason for this, according to Pyongyang, is the close military cooperation between South Korea and the US. Those two countries held their largest military exercise in years last month.

This new missile, the Hwasong 18, would represent a breakthrough for the North Korean armed forces if indeed solid fuels were flown. Until now, the country has only used liquid fuel, which means that the rocket has to be refueled in a cumbersome procedure just before launch.

A solid fuel rocket is easier to move and deploy faster and less conspicuously. Preparations for a launch will therefore be less noticeable on satellite images than they are now. Last year, the country already tested a solid fuel engine in a test environment.

The very first rockets used solid fuel, think of the gunpowder of flares. However, liquid fuel was later used, such as for the US lunar program, which used 770,000 liters of kerosene and 1.2 million liters of liquid oxygen for rocket launches. The advantage of liquid fuel is that its supply is easier to control.

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