[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] Is the Hwasong-17 a Success?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] It is highly likely that North Korea will conduct additional launches to demonstrate the technical performance of its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the Hwasong-17.

On the 25th, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency reported that the ICBM ascended to a maximum apogee of 6,248.5 km, flew a distance of 1,090 km for 4,052 seconds (67 minutes), and accurately landed in the designated area over the open sea of the East Sea of Korea.

This closely matches the detection information from South Korean military authorities and reached an altitude approximately 1,770 km higher than the Hwasong-15 launched in 2017. The launch was conducted at an 80-degree angle, soaring over 6,200 km, making it the highest altitude ever achieved in the history of ballistic missile development worldwide. Notably, the diameter and length of the missile increased compared to the Hwasong-15, with an estimated length of about 22 to 24 meters, longer than the Hwasong-15’s 21 meters. It is the longest ICBM in the world by length.

The issue is that the Hwasong-17 is still considered an incomplete ICBM, meaning additional launches are quite possible in the future. The Hwasong-17 has a multiple independently targetable reentry vehicle (MIRV) configuration capable of carrying 2 to 3 nuclear warheads, earning it the nickname "monster ICBM." However, it is still too early to determine whether the post-boost vehicle (PBV) technology, which separates the warheads and delivers them to their target points, is in the final stages of completion.

Additionally, after launch, the ICBM separates the PBV containing the warheads in outer space, where the rocket attached to the PBV ignites to carry the warheads to the desired target area. If fully developed PBV technology is applied, it could simultaneously attack Washington or New York. However, reentry technology has not yet been verified.

This was North Korea’s fourth launch of the Hwasong-17. On the 27th of last month and the 5th of this month, the missiles appeared to be Hwasong-17s in shape, but their green trajectories after launch indicated they were medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs) with shorter ranges than ICBMs. The third launch on the 16th ended in failure due to an airburst during the early ascent phase.

A military official stated, "This launch appears to be aimed at verifying whether the propulsion system has sufficient range and warhead carrying capacity, and considering this, additional launches are quite possible."

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