According to the Kyodo Tsushin News Agency, North Korea is focusing on improving the quality of its missiles and nuclear weapons in 2024. The launch of the Hwasong-18 solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile and the Mallygyong-1 military reconnaissance satellite complement the North’s nuclear and missile capabilities.

“Hwasongpo-16B”

The first thing to note is the launch on April 2, when they tested the hypersonic glider again (the previous launch of such a missile was Jan. 14) by firing a long-range heavy solid-propellant missile with a hypersonic warhead on a shortened trajectory.

Hypersonic missiles fly at speeds of at least Mach 5 – five times the speed of sound – and are designed to be maneuverable on unpredictable flight paths and fly at low altitudes. At Mach 5 and above, such a missile can cover the 195-kilometer distance between Pyongyang and Seoul in just one to two minutes. This means (at the moment) that it is fundamentally impossible for this weapon to be intercepted by the ROK missile defense forces, even though the glide vehicle could be carrying nuclear weapons. Alas, this is why Seoul is considering the concept of a “Kill Chain” preemptive strike as a countermeasure – hitting the launch site BEFORE the missile takes off.

According to a report by the KCNA, the launch was to “confirm the variability of the glide vehicle’s trajectory in hypersonic flight, its lateral maneuverability, taking safety into account by artificially limiting the speed and altitude by setting the range limit to one thousand kilometers, this being done by delaying the second stage engine startup and abruptly changing the trajectory in the active flight section…” The result “clearly confirmed the rapid and superior maneuverability of the newly developed hypersonic glider and warhead, and in the verification under the cruel conditions of the test launch, the crucial military-strategic value of the new medium- and long-range hypersonic missile was assessed as very significant”

As noted by Russian experts, the range of flight was limited for safety reasons, and the speed and altitude were forcibly “throttled” by delaying the start of the second stage engine and abruptly changing the flight trajectory in the boost phase. This confirmed the ability of the glide vehicle to make “hops” in its flight trajectory, and the horizontal maneuvering capabilities of the hypersonic planned warhead. After separation from the missile, the hypersonic warhead reached an altitude of 101.1 and 72.3 km (primary and secondary maximums), flew about 1,000 km along the specified trajectory, and then fell into the Sea of Japan.

The South Korean military remained unmoved in its opinion about the missile’s........

© New Eastern Outlook