North Korea Claims New Hwasong-19 ICBM Launched Yesterday's Strongest Strategic Missile In The World

The launch of the new intercontinental ballistic missile North Korea Hwasong-19. (Source: KCNA)

JAKARTA - North Korea showcased its military force with a test of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile dubbed Hwasong-19, state media said on Friday.

Missiles launched yesterday shot higher than previous North Korean missiles according to North Korea, as well as militaries in South Korea and Japan that tracked their flights deep into space before falling in the ocean between Japan and Russia.

State news agency KCNA praised it as "the world's strongest strategic missile," quoted by Reuters on November 1.

The KCNA report said the launch did not affect the safety of neighboring countries and was the right military move in dealing with threats from North Korean enemies.

The Hwasong-19 will be deployed with Hwasong-18, which was first launched last year and also uses solid fuel, KCNA said.

It is known that solid-fuel missiles do not need to be refueled as soon as launch, often easier and safer to operate, requiring less logistical support, making it harder to detect than liquid-fueled weapons.

Photos released by KCNA show a large multistage missile launched from a tube carried by a transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) vehicle.

KCNA also showed photos of cameras apparently mounted on the missile, which took pictures of phase and earth separations.

The missile flew as far as 1,001.2 km (622.12 miles) for 5,156 seconds before landing on the offshore sea east of the Korean peninsula, according to a KCNA report.

"The maximum peak height is recorded at 7,687.5 km (4,776.79 miles)," he added.

While there are still questions about North Korea's ability to direct the missile and protect the nuclear warhead as it re-enters the atmosphere, Hwasong-19, such as North Korea's latest ICBM, shows the range to strike targets across the United States.