North Korea has entered this year and continues to launch missiles at an unprecedented pace.
Regarding the ballistic missile launched on March 24, it was announced on the 25th that the new ICBM = intercontinental ballistic missile "Mars 17" was successfully launched.
This is the 11th time North Korea has launched ballistic missiles and other flying objects, excluding rocket artillery.
What is North Korea's speculation of launching missiles one after another?
What is "Mars 17 type" which is said to be "the world's largest mobile ICBM"?
I will explain in detail.
How long have you been in this year?
North Korea has entered this year and launched 15 ballistic missiles.
You can see how many ballistic missiles were launched in 17 years when Kim Jong-eun (Kim Jong-un)'s father, Kim Jong-il (Kim Jong-il), fired 16 ballistic missiles.
(* The total number of shots has risen to more than 100 since the current Kim Jong-un system.)
The North Korean Workers' Party of Korea's Rodong Sinmun newspaper, dated 25th, is on the front page, "Yesterday, the presence of General Secretary Kim Jong-un. Under these circumstances, we succeeded in launching the new ICBM "Mars 17". "
This is the first time North Korea has announced the launch of the "Hwasong-16".
Full-scale launch of ICBM class in less than 4 years One after another in a short period of time
The launch of this ICBM-class ballistic missile, in fact, was temporarily invisible.
From July to November 2017, two ICBM-class "Hwasong-14" shots (July 4, 2017, July 28, 2017) and one "Hwasong-15 type" shot (November 29, 2017). Was fired.
There were no ICBM-class launches for the next four years, but North Korea resumed its activities from the end of February to March, and launched four times, including this "Hwasong-17". Did.
The first was on February 27, when a ballistic missile was launched from the vicinity of Sunang, a suburb of the capital Pyongyang, and North Korea announced on the following day (28th) that it had "performed an important experiment for the development of a reconnaissance satellite." ..
The second time is March 5th, 6 days later.
A ballistic missile was launched from the same vicinity of Sunan, and it was announced that "an important experiment for the development of a reconnaissance satellite was conducted again", and the Ministry of Defense has analyzed that both were ICBM class.
The third time was March 16th.
A flyer, presumed to be a ballistic missile, was launched from the same vicinity of Sunan, but it was believed that it failed due to an aerial explosion shortly afterwards, and the South Korean army believes that it may have been an ICBM-related launch. Was showing.
And this is the 4th launch.
North Korea has launched four ICBM-class ballistic missiles in a short period of time.
What is the significance of launching the new ICBM "Hwasong-16"?
The "Mars 17" launched this time is said by experts to be "the world's largest mobile ICBM".
To date, North Korea's largest missile was the ICBM-class "Hwasong-15," which was launched toward the Sea of Japan on November 29, 2017.
Launched from a mobile launch pad with nine wheels on each side, North Korea announced that it had "flyed for 53 minutes, reached an altitude of 4475 km and had a flight distance of 950 km."
The South Korean Ministry of Defense has analyzed that it has a range of up to 13,000 kilometers and can reach Washington, the capital of the United States.
In addition, the "Mars 14", which is said to be an ICBM class launched in July 2017, has a mobile launch pad with eight wheels on each side.
This "Mars 17" was launched from a mobile launch pad with 11 wheels on each side, and North Korea announced that "the maximum altitude reached 6248.5 km and it flew a distance of 1090 km in 1 hour 7 minutes 32 seconds." I am.
The Ministry of Defense has analyzed that, depending on the weight of the warhead, a range of more than 15,000 kilometers could cover the entire land, including the east coast of the United States.
Experts analyze that North Korea is putting pressure on the United States.
Why put pressure on America?
The background is that negotiations between the United States and North Korea over the denuclearization of North Korea are at a standstill.
After the first-ever US-North Korea summit meeting, North Korea has called for easing economic sanctions in return for denuclearization measures and withdrawing "hostile policies" such as the cancellation of joint US-Korea military exercises. rice field.
However, the Biden administration did not respond to North Korea's demands while calling for the resumption of dialogue, and on January 12, new sanctions were imposed on those involved in North Korean organizations that were allegedly involved in nuclear and missile development. Was announced.
North Korea has strengthened its opposition to this attitude, and at the Workers' Party of Korea's Politburo meeting on January 19, it suggested that it would consider revising the cancellation of the ICBM launch test and nuclear test.
North Korea announced in April 2018 that it would cancel the ICBM launch test and nuclear test ahead of the first-ever summit meeting with the United States, but this time the full-scale launch of the ICBM class will be in 2017. This is the first time since the "Mars 15 type" in November.
As North Korea suggested, it became clear that the ICBM launch test was canceled.
What is the aim of North Korea?
Professor Atsuhito Isozaki of Keio University, who specializes in North Korean politics, commented on the background of North Korea launching missiles one after another. It turns out that he is not interested in the issue of North Korea. It is believed that North Korea is strengthening its military power without hesitation. " It is said that.
He pointed out that "it is the action of the default route for North Korea, which aims to strengthen its national defense," and will continue to carry out launch experiments in line with the "Five-Year Defense Plan" launched in January last year. , He said that he would strengthen nuclear and missile development.
Regarding the launch of the "Hwasong-16" this time, General Secretary Kim said, "We will continuously strengthen the powerful nuclear war deterrence in both quality and quantity. We will thoroughly prepare for a long-term confrontation with American imperialism. ", And is strongly restraining the United States.
Is it the influence of the situation in Ukraine?
Professor Isozaki also said that "North Korea is observing the situation in Ukraine very carefully" regarding the connection with Russia's military invasion of Ukraine.
He added, "There is no doubt that we have strengthened our belief that we can protect our country from foreign aggression only by having nuclear weapons and strengthening our military power." I pointed out that it is further boosting.
What kind of missile are you developing?
At the party convention in January last year, North Korea announced a "five-year national defense plan" saying that "the strongest military power must be secured."
Based on that, we proceeded with the development of new weapons and entered into this and launched various types of missiles.
* Short-range ballistic missiles that are said to be "tactical guided missiles" (launched on January 14, 17, and 27)
It has been pointed out that the altitude is lower than conventional missiles, and it is difficult to fly and intercept in irregular orbits. I am.
The launch on January 14 is from a train by the "Railway Mobile Missile Regiment", and it will be possible to launch from mountainous areas that are difficult with a mobile launch pad.
* Long-range cruise missile (launched on January 25)
Unlike ballistic missiles that draw a parabola, it is a missile with extremely high accuracy that can change its route at low altitude and during flight.
The launch on January 25 was said to have flown a considerable distance from the inland area, and North Korea announced that it "flighted 2 hours 32 minutes 17 seconds and hit the target island 1800 km away."
* Ballistic missiles claimed to be "extreme supersonic missiles" (launched on January 5th and 11th)
Extreme supersonic missiles are Mach 5 or higher, which is five times the speed of sound, and move between Tokyo and Osaka in about 5 minutes. It is a missile that can fly with.
Since it flies while changing course in a low orbit for a long time, it becomes difficult to detect and intercept, and the United States, China, Russia, etc. are competing for development.
Early analysis by the South Korean military suggests that the first launch test last September had a flight distance of less than 200 kilometers and a speed of around Mach 3.
However, the Korean media reported that the missile on January 5 was Mach 5 or higher, and the missile on January 11 had a maximum speed of around Mach 10 and a flight distance of 700 km or more. We are making progress. "
* Intermediate-range ballistic missile "Mars 12" This is a medium-range ballistic missile
that is believed to use liquid fuel and claims that North Korea "has a range of Hawaii and Alaska, where the headquarters of the US Pacific Army is located."
The Ministry of Defense analyzes that the range can reach up to 5,000 kilometers.
Will missile launches continue in the future?
North Korea is important, such as the 10th anniversary of Kim's inauguration as the leader of the Workers' Party of Korea on April 11, and the 110th anniversary of Kim Il Sung's grandfather Kim Il Sung's birth on April 15. We are approaching a turning point.
In addition, a joint US-ROK military exercise against North Korea is expected to be held soon.
The Rodong Sinmun, dated March 11, refurbished and expanded the facility so that General Secretary Kim visited the Sohe satellite launch site in northwestern Tonchanri and launched reconnaissance satellites and other satellites with a "large carrier rocket." I told you that I instructed.
U.S. experts analyzed satellite images taken on March 4 of the North Korean nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, which was said to have blown up and closed a mine shaft in May 2018. As a result, he points out that he is showing a move that can be regarded as restoration work, such as constructing a new building.
From these facts, it has been pointed out that North Korea may force further launches of ICBM class under the name of "launch of reconnaissance satellites", and the caution of the countries concerned is further strengthened.