DPRK confirms test-firing of solid-fuel mid-range ballistic missile

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
15 Jan 2024 03:16

State-run news agency KCNA says the missile was loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead when it was fired off.

This picture taken on January 14, 2024, and released by the DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) via KNS on January 15, 2024, shows the test-firing of an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile at an unconfirmed location in the DPRK.

The DPRK successfully test-fired an intermediate-range solid-fuel ballistic missile, state-run news agency KCNA confirmed early Monday, categorizing the launch as part of its "regular activities for developing powerful weapon systems."

Earlier on Sunday, the Japan Coast Guard said the DPRK may have launched a ballistic missile.

The missile was loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead when it was fired off Sunday afternoon, according to the outlet.

The test was meant to verify "the gliding and maneuvering characteristics" of the warhead and "reliability of newly developed multi-stage high-thrust solid-fuel engines," KCNA said.

It added that the test-firing "never affected the security of any neighbouring country and had nothing to do with the regional situation."

It came just days after Pyongyang staged live-fire exercises near the country's tense maritime border with South Korea, which prompted counter-exercises and evacuation orders for some South Korean border islands.

The missile flew toward the East Sea traveling approximately 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement Sunday, adding that authorities in Seoul, Washington and Tokyo were analyzing the specifications.

The DPRK's last missile test was of a Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it fired into the East Sea on December 18.

DPRK leader Kim Jong Un earlier this week branded Seoul his "principal enemy" and warned he would not hesitate to annihilate South Korea should its army violate Pyongyang's sovereignty, as he toured major weapons factories.

"The historic time has come at last when we should define as a state most hostile toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea the entity called the Republic of Korea (South Korea)," Kim was reported as saying by KCNA.

The DPRK leader's warning followed a meeting between South Korea and the United States in Washington, where they discussed nuclear deterrence in the event of conflict with the DPRK.