Secured Technology Capable of Developing ICBMs

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Our military has succeeded in a combustion test of a solid engine capable of launching small satellites. With the success of the combustion test, it is evaluated that not only launch vehicles capable of launching satellites but also the development of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) has become possible.

According to the Ministry of National Defense on the 16th, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) succeeded in a combustion test of a solid engine for space launch vehicles on July 29. A solid engine refers to an engine that uses solid fuel.

Based on the solid engine technology that succeeded in the test, ADD plans to develop a two-stage launch vehicle by 2024 and launch small or microsatellites into low Earth orbit using this launch vehicle.

By simply adding a first-stage launch vehicle to a launch vehicle capable of launching satellites, it becomes an ICBM. The core technologies of launch vehicles that launch satellites and ICBMs are the same, including the airframe, propulsion system, and guidance control system. Only the technology to withstand the heat generated when the warhead re-enters the atmosphere needs to be supplemented.

This is why the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) prohibits North Korea from launching rockets using ballistic missile technology even if they carry artificial satellites.

However, North Korea has emphasized its intention to continue satellite launches under the banner of "peaceful space development." Since the establishment of the Kim Jong-un regime, it has conducted space launch vehicle tests three times. On April 13 and December 12, 2012, it launched the "Kwangmyongsong-3" long-range rocket from the Dongchang-ri West Sea Satellite Launching Station. On February 7, 2016, it launched the "Kwangmyongsong-4" and placed it into orbit, but it is not known whether a satellite was onboard.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.