North Korea, yesterday, launched two more ballistic missiles in the direction of the Sea of Japan and they seem to have fallen into the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of Tokyo. This would be Pyongyang's eighth missile launch in the past two weeks, since military exercises between South Korea and Japan have intensified.
According to reports from the Seoul military leaders, the North Koreans are testing the medium-range ballistic missile (IRBM) Hwasong-12, presented for the first time to the international community in the Pyongyang military parade in 2017.
North Korea has an articulated ballistic arsenal, Pyongyang's true strategic weapon, thanks to which President Kim Jong-un guarantees the survival of his regime.
In the field of short-range missile systems, the North Koreans have long since modified a large number of missiles Scud, received from the USSR in the 70s of the last century, and called Hwasong-6. The weapon is credited with a maximum range of 600 km and can carry a warhead of over 700 kg (it can also carry chemical or tactical nuclear warheads).
For longer distances (between 1.100 and 1.600 km) Pyongyang has about 300 missiles, Hwasong-7, a single-stage liquid propellant weapon, launchable from a mobile platform and capable of carrying a warhead up to 1200 kg in weight. The Hwasong-7 it can fly at an altitude of 150 km, evading the interception capabilities of the American surface-to-air system Patriot PAC-3 (set to intercept missiles at an altitude of 40 km), deployed on the territory of South Korea. The missile was also sold to Iranians (Shahab-3) and Pakistanis (Ghauri).
From Hwasong-7 Pyongyang technicians developed, in the second half of the 90s, the first North Korean bi-stage missile: the Taep'o-dong-1 (Also known as Pekdosan-1), can be launched from silos. Conceived as a medium-range missile (2.000 km), it also has modest intercontinental capabilities (ICBM), as it is capable of carrying a small 50 kg warhead to 6.000 km away. However, it would appear that it was only a technology demonstrator
The Taep'o-dong-2, derived from the previous version, is the first North Korean ICBM. It is a two- or three-stage missile with an estimated range of around 3.650-3.750 km with a payload of 700-1.000 kg. It is currently unclear whether Iran has adapted the missile design Taep'o-dong-2 for Shehab-5 e Shehab-6.
Lo Hwasong-14 (US designated KN-20), two-stage ballistic missile, probably derived from the Hwasong-12, was tested on July 4, 2017. It flew a distance of 934 kilometers, reached an apogee of 2.802 kilometers and remained in the air for 37 minutes. It crashed inside Japan's EEZ of 200 nautical miles in the Sea of Japan.
Given the range, the apogee and the time of flight, the first evaluations have estimated that the complete flight capability of theHwasong-14 is well above the 5.500 km limit that the United States uses to classify ballistic missiles as "intercontinental" (probably, to avoid launching the missile on Japan, North Korea tested it on a lofted trajectory to decrease the maximum range , almost shooting it upwards). Assuming a firing angle that would put the missile on a more standard trajectory, analysts estimated that the Hwasong-14 it would have a range (minimum estimate) of 6.700 kilometers, which would allow this missile to carry a nuclear payload over population centers in Alaska and potentially reach Hawaii with a modified nuclear warhead.
The range, in fact, could very well exceed 7.000 kilometers, which would bring Honolulu and the headquarters of the US Pacific Naval Command within range of attack by the North Koreans.
A North Korean missile with such a range (between 7.000 and 9.000 km) could also hit the American base of Guam in the Indian Ocean, from which the strategic bombers B1B and B-52H should operate in the event of a conflict with China. .
Photo: KCNA
