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AsiaA ballistic missile fired by North Korea
Pyongyang fired a new “unidentified ballistic missile”, the South Korean army announced on Sunday.
A North Korean missile launch on November 18, 2022.
AFP
North Korea launched an “unidentified ballistic missile” on Sunday days after Pyongyang announced a successful test of a solid-fuel engine with the aim of developing a new weapon system. “North Korea fired an unidentified ballistic missile towards (the) East Sea”, also known as the Sea of Japan, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
The launch comes as Pyongyang announced on Friday that it had tested a “high-thrust solid-fuel engine”, which its state media KCNA called an important test “for the development of a strategic weapons system of a new kind”. Despite heavy international sanctions weighing on its weapons programs, Pyongyang has built up an arsenal of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs).
All of its ICBMs, however, are liquid fueled. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un considers the development of solid-fuel engines to make more advanced missiles a strategic priority. Kim Jong Un claimed in 2022 that he wanted North Korea to have the most powerful nuclear force in the world, and declared his country’s status as a nuclear state “irreversible”.
Among its goals unveiled in 2021 is the development of solid-fuel ICBMs that could be launched from land or from submarines. The engine test announced on Friday was a step towards achieving this goal, but experts do not know at what stage North Korea is in developing such missiles.
Key party meeting
The political orientations of the isolated country for 2023 will be set out in December at a key party meeting. KCNA reported that according to Kim Jong Un, the year 2023 will be a “historic year”. For several years, the leader had held a speech on January 1 before breaking this tradition in favor of announcements during this end-of-year plenary meeting. In his most recent speech, published for New Year’s Day, he focused on home affairs.
Experts say that while Kim Jong Un refrained from addressing the United States directly last time, he may change his tune this time around. Pyongyang has conducted a record series of weapons tests this year, including its most advanced ICBM.
The United States and South Korea have been warning for months that North Korea may be planning what would be its seventh nuclear test in its history and the first in five years. North Korea has been under multiple United Nations Security Council sanctions over its nuclear and missile program since 2006.
(AFP)