North Korea Confirms Testing of New Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, Kim Jong-un: Increases Counter-Nuclear Strike Capability

Illustration of North Korea's latest ballistic missile launch. (Source: KCNA)

JAKARTA - North Korea confirmed on Friday the missile used in its recent launches was its new Hwasong-18 solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), with Leader Kim Jong-un saying the weapon would "radically promote" posture the country's nuclear counterattack.

North Korea launched a new ICBM on Thursday and was guided in person by Kim Jong-un, in the test of a "future core important means" of war prevention, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), citing the April 14 Korea Times.

However, KCNA did not disclose details of the missile's specifications, such as flight range and maximum altitude.

South Korea's military said on Thursday it had detected North Korea's launch of a medium- or long-range ballistic missile in the vicinity of Pyongyang into the East Sea. The missile, which was fired at a high angle, flew about 1.000 kilometers, he said.

"The new ICBM will radically promote the effectiveness of its nuclear counterattack posture and bring about a change in the practicality of its offensive military strategy," said Kim Jong-un.

Expressing "satisfaction" with the launch, the North Korean leader vowed that Pyongyang would take "a fatal and offensive countermeasure", causing its enemies to suffer "extreme discomfort and horror".

The test marked Pyongyang's latest progress toward developing a solid-fuel ICBM, one of five major defense projects put forward at the party's congress in January 2021.

Solid-fuel missiles are known to be more difficult to detect before launch, compared to liquid-fueled missiles which require relatively longer time during preparation.

In December, Pyongyang tested a solid-fuel engine for a new strategic weapon and showcased the new ICBM during its military parade in February, raising speculation over whether it uses a solid-fuel engine.

KCNA said the latest test-fire aims to confirm "the performance of a high-thrust solid-fuel engine for multi-stage missiles and the reliability of stage-discharge technology and various functional control systems."

The missile's first stage landed in waters 10 kilometers from Kumya County, South Hamgyong Province, while the second stage fell into waters 335 km east of Orang District, North Hamgyong Province, according to KCNA.

Photos released by state media showed that Kim's daughter, known as Ju-ae, his wife Ri Sol-ju, and sister Kim Yo-jong attended the exam. They also show the separation scenes of the first, second and third stage missiles.

The latest launch comes just days ahead of the 111th birthday of the late Kim Il-sung, North Korea's national founding father and grandfather of the current leader on Saturday.