Military: Verification Needed for North Korea's ICBM Atmospheric Reentry Technology

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] On the 19th, the military authorities stated that regarding the claim that U.S. intelligence agencies assessed North Korea has secured atmospheric reentry technology for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), "Since no live-fire test has been conducted, additional verification is needed, which remains our consistent position."

Moon Hong-sik, Deputy Spokesperson of the Ministry of National Defense, said at a regular briefing that "It was not appropriate for the Ministry of National Defense to evaluate reports or publications issued by civilian research institutions, and we have not confirmed such information," prefacing his remarks.

When asked whether related information had been shared with the Ministry of National Defense, Moon said, "The South Korea-U.S. military authorities have not confirmed the evaluation results of the U.S. intelligence agencies."

Earlier, the Heritage Foundation, a U.S. conservative think tank, stated in its "2021 U.S. Defense Power Index" report on the 17th (local time) that "The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assessed that North Korea's ICBM reentry vehicle would function properly if launched on a normal trajectory targeting the U.S. mainland."

Atmospheric reentry technology is one of the core challenges in developing ICBMs. The launch vehicle must exit and then reenter the atmosphere, enduring high temperatures and undergoing uniform ablation during this process to maintain the desired trajectory and activate the detonation device.

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