North Korea test-launched ICBM Hwasong-18?

HANH NGUYEN (According to Reuters, AP)

North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile into the sea between the Korean Peninsula and Japan on the morning of July 12, hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan were scheduled to meet to discuss growing threats, including from Pyongyang.

North Korea's Hwasong-18 solid-fuel ICBM. Photo: KCNA

According to South Korean and Japanese officials, the missile flew for 74 minutes, reaching an altitude of 6,000km and traveling 1,000km, which a Japanese defense source described as the longest flight time of a North Korean missile. The missile was reportedly launched at a high angle to avoid affecting neighboring countries.

Meanwhile, experts believe that North Korea may have tested the solid-fueled Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which is much harder to detect and intercept than the country's other liquid-fueled ICBMs. Since 2017, North Korea has tested several ICBMs, but all of them have used liquid fuel. As a result, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has described the Hwasong-18 as his most powerful nuclear weapon.

Japan and Korea react strongly

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is in Lithuania for a NATO summit, has instructed officials to gather information and prepare for any unexpected events. Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno stressed that North Korea's missile launch threatens peace and stability in the region and the international community. Tokyo has lodged a protest with Pyongyang through diplomatic channels in Beijing, China.

Meanwhile, the South Korean military called the launch a “grave provocation.” At an emergency meeting of the security council in Lithuania, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol told officials that North Korea would face consequences for the provocation.

North Korea's intentions

The missile launch took place after North Korea repeatedly warned the US Air Force on July 10 and 11 against violating its airspace above its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on July 11 quoted Kim Yo-jong, deputy director of the Propaganda and Information Department of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, as saying that the US had sent a strategic reconnaissance aircraft to violate the country's EEZ in the East Sea off the Korean Peninsula a total of eight times in the previous day and conducted reconnaissance activities. According to Kim Yo-jong, the North Korean air force responded promptly and forced the US aircraft to turn back. She also said that Pyongyang could take countermeasures if Washington repeated the violations. The North Korean military even threatened to shoot down the US spy plane.

In response, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) rejected Pyongyang’s accusations, stating that the reconnaissance flights by US forces were conducted in accordance with standards and did not violate North Korean territory. On July 11, JCS spokesman Lee Sung-jun reaffirmed that US forces “operate safely and responsibly” in international waters and airspace.

In addition to the reconnaissance aircraft issue, North Korea also condemned the recent visit to South Korea of a US cruise missile submarine.

“Kim Yo-jong’s harsh remarks about the US spy plane are part of North Korea’s plan to exaggerate external threats to rally domestic support and justify weapons tests,” said Leif-Eric Easley, professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in South Korea. According to Dr. Easley, Pyongyang also chose the moment to show its strength to hinder so-called diplomatic cooperation against North Korea, which in this case was the meeting of South Korean and Japanese leaders at the NATO summit.

However, Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said that the launch on July 12 was likely planned in advance to perfect the technologies of the Hwasong-18 missile, rather than a direct response to the NATO conference or the US spy plane incident.

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