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​North Korea Tests New Missile, Claimed to Be Most Powerful, Able to Reach Europe and the United States

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​North Korea Tests New Missile, Claimed to Be Most Powerful, Able to Reach Europe and the United States

Pyongyang launches a new intercontinental missile, a modernization of the Hwasong-18, which is a copy of russian Topol-M missile

North Korea has tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile designed to deliver nuclear warheads, the type and name of which are unknown at the time of publication. It was launched on October 31 at about 7:10 a.m. local time from the Pyongyang area in the direction of the Sea of Japan.

According to statements from the defense ministries of Seoul and Tokyo, the missile successfully reached a record altitude of 7,000 km and landed west of Okushiri Island, near Hokkaido. The flight lasted 86 minutes.

Read more: ​Details Revealed About North Korean Military Training in russia Before Deployment to the Front

Although the inert warhead fell 1,000 kilometers from the launch site, the high altitude of the test trajectory indicates that if the missile had been launched on a normal trajectory, it could have a range of over 17,000 kilometers. This indicates that the missile is capable of reaching any location in the U.S. and Europe. In fact, with such a range, Pyongyang cannot reach only a part of South America.

North Korea Tests New Missile, Claimed to Be Most Powerful, Able to Reach Europe and the United States, Defense Express
Launch of Hwasong-18 / Photo credit: the Korean Central News Agency

It is believed to have been a new type of solid-fuel missile or a modernization of the Hwasong-18. The DPRK officially announced the launch, but did not add any information about the missile, only stating that the launch was a record-breaking one.

It should be noted that the only known North Korean intercontinental ballistic solid-fuel missile is the Hwasong-18. It first became known in 2021, while the missile made its first flight on April 13, 2023. It is known that three successful launches of this missile were made in a row, during which it reached altitudes of 6.5-6.6 thousand kilometers.

The modulation of these Hwasong-18 launches on the "combat" trajectory indicates a range of 14,000 to 16,000 kilometers, depending on the weight of the warhead. At the same time, this missile had a longer range than the liquid-fueled Hwasong-17, whose range is about 14,000 to 15,000 kilometers.

North Korea Tests New Missile, Claimed to Be Most Powerful, Able to Reach Europe and the United States, Defense Express
Modeling of the Hwasong-18 trajectory / Analysis by CSIS

At the same time, reaching California from the DPRK requires a range of up to 10,000 kilometers, New York up to 11,000 kilometers, and the most remote Florida up to 12,000 kilometers. As for Europe, there are 10,000 kilometers from Pyongyang to Lisbon.

It should be noted that the available photos and the revealed capabilities of the Hwasong-18 directly indicate that the source of technologies, solutions and apparently components for its development was the russian federation. The Hwasong-18 can be directly traced to the russian Topol-M and Yars intercontinental ballistic missiles that represents their modernization.

North Korea Tests New Missile, Claimed to Be Most Powerful, Able to Reach Europe and the United States, Defense Express
russian Topol-M and North Korean Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missiles / Analysis by CSIS

Whether or not the intercontinental missile launched by the DPRK on October 31 is an updated version of the Hwasong-18 is currently unknown.

Earlier Defense Express reported that North Korean Deputy Chief of the General Staff had overseen troops in russia.

Read more: Thousands of North Korean Soldiers May Deploy to Ukraine by Year-End After Training in russia - WP