Bigger, more advanced… and even more deadly: How photographs of latest North Korea missile launch reveal details of new navigation systems and payload capabilities
North Korea’s Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile looks like a significant update on the Hwasong-14
Based on analysis of images, experts determined it is taller, wider, and capable of carrying a bigger payload
Also appears to use mobile launch pad, making it easier to move around and launch from remote locations
David Schmerler, research associate at James Martin Center, said the missile appears able to hit ‘all of the US’
By IAIN BURNS
DAILYMAIL.COM
30 November 2017
The latest North Korean missile test has demonstrated a series of advances in technology by the belligerent hermetic state, experts have said.
Based on photographs released by North Korea, analysts have determined that the Hwasong-15 – an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launched yesterday – is taller, wider, capable of carrying a much bigger warhead and fired from its own launch pad.
It is considered a major improvement on the Hwasong-14 missile, which was first launched in July and reached an altitude of 2,313 miles while showing a potential range of 6,213.
Discussing the new weapon, David Schmerler, a research associate at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said: ‘They wanted to hit all of the US and they wanted something big to hit it with.
‘This seems on the surface level to be that missile.’
A much bigger missile
The missile’s large size was immediately apparent in the photos, which analysts said could provide for a more powerful propulsion system.
‘This is a very big missile,’ Michael Duitsman, a research associate at the Centre for Nonproliferation Studies, said. ‘And I don’t mean ‘Big for North Korea’. Only a few countries can produce missiles of this size, and North Korea just joined the club.’
One US intelligence official told Reuters the Hwasong-15 test appears to demonstrate a more powerful North Korean solid-fuel propulsion system, especially in its second-stage rocket.
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