According to the local media the launch of the Hwasong-15 showed the North’s “potent physical nuclear deterrence” and attempts to “transform its capacity of deadly nuclear counterattack on the hostile forces” into an incredibly strong capability that cannot be matched.
North Korea might try to operate its ICBMs on a regular basis.According to North Korea’s official Korean Central News Agency, the Hwasong-15 ICBM launch was organized “suddenly” and on Kim Jong Un’s express orders on Saturday at daybreak.
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Missile Basic Properties :
According to the local media the launch was intended to assess the weapon’s dependability and the nation’s nuclear force’s readiness for combat. According to the report, the missile was launched at a high angle, traveled a distance of about 990 kilometers (615 miles), reached a maximum altitude of about 5,770 kilometers (3,585 miles), and then precisely hit a target area in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
It appears that the steep-angle launch was intended to steer clear of nearby nations. The weapon could theoretically reach the continental United States if fired at a conventional trajectory, according to the flight information provided by North Korea, which largely matched the launch information assessed by its neighbors. According to the local media, the launch of the Hwasong-15 showed the North’s “potent physical nuclear deterrence” and attempts to “transform its capacity of deadly nuclear retaliation on the hostile forces” into an incredibly strong capability that cannot be matched.
It is still unclear whether North Korea has a nuclear-tipped ICBM in operation. According to some experts, the North lacks the technology to shield warheads from the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry. Such reentry vehicle technology has allegedly been acquired by the North.
The Hwasong-15 is one of North Korea’s three operational intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), all of which employ liquid propellants that need per-launch injections and can’t be fueled indefinitely.
Kim Yo Jong :
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of Kim Jong Un, charged South Korea and the United States with “openly exposing their hazardous greed and endeavor to obtain the military upper hand and dominant status in the Korean Peninsula” in a separate statement released on Sunday.
Kim Yo Jong declared, “I forewarn that we will watch every move of the enemy and take equivalent, very forceful and overwhelming retaliatory action against its every hostile move towards us.
Notwithstanding the allies’ claims that such drills are defensive in character, North Korea has consistently criticized regular military exercises between South Korea and the United States as invasion practice. According to some observers, North Korea frequently uses drills involving South Korea and the United States as an excuse to test and update its arsenal of weapons, which it feels is necessary to obtain the United States’ respite from sanctions and other concessions.
The strong military alliance with the United States, according to South Korea’s presidential National Security Council, will be used to reinforce its “overwhelming reaction posture” against any North Korean attack. Military officials from South Korea and the United States are to conduct a tabletop exercise this week to practice a coordinated reaction to a potential nuclear attack by North Korea.
In March, the allies will also carry out a further joint computer-simulated exercise and field training.
With more than 70 ballistic missiles fired, including some with nuclear warheads, North Korea just finished a record-breaking year for weaponry displays. Many of the nuclear tests, according to North Korea, were a warning regarding upcoming military exercises between the United States and South Korea. Additionally, it approved a law last year that gives it the authority to deploy nuclear bombs in a variety of preemptive situations.
In 2024, Kim Jong Un called for the “exponential buildup” of the nation’s nuclear warheads, the mass manufacturing of battlefield tactical nuclear weapons aimed against South Korea, and the creation of more sophisticated ICBMs aimed at the United States.
