“Based on external similarity”: why did the American media compare the DPRK missiles with the Russian Iskanders

Launched in early May, North Korean short-range missiles "are strikingly similar" to the ammunition of the Russian operational-tactical complex "Iskander" and may have some of its advantages. This point of view of South Korean analysts leads the newspaper The Wall Street Journal.

In particular, the former official of the National Security Council of South Korea, Chon Son Wun, believes that the new DPRK missiles have improved maneuverability and are capable of overcoming modern anti-missile defense systems. According to him, the United States and Seoul are not able to reliably protect their military facilities on the territory of the peninsula.

A similar point of view is held by the professor of the South Korean University Kyonnam Kim Donub. He believes that the DPRK engineers managed to significantly improve the control and guidance systems of short-range missiles.

In an interview with RT, the chief editor of the magazine Arsenal of the Fatherland, Viktor Murakhovsky, called the “non-professional” arguments of South Korean colleagues. According to him, not a single foreign missile system possesses the combat capabilities of the Iskander. For this reason, it makes no sense to compare the domestic system with any analogue.

“A distinctive feature of the Iskander is that its missile on approaching the target can perform completely unpredictable maneuvers. The control system of our complex includes such algorithms that even the developers themselves cannot predict the movement of a rocket. Naturally, it is almost impossible to intercept such a rocket. There are no such weapons either in the West or in the DPRK, ”said Murakhovsky.

According to the expert, the findings of The Wall Street Journal are based only on the external similarity of the two missiles. The lack of visible differences can not be the reason for any conclusions, indicates Murakhovsky.

“I’ll open a secret to foreign analysts: all ballistic missiles are similar to each other, because engineers rely on well-known laws of physics. With the same success, you can compare the photos of the American ATACMS missile complex and the recently launched Pyongyang missile - there is a great similarity between them. On this basis, it is possible to come to the absurd conclusion that the DPRK scientists “borrowed” some technologies from the United States, ”the expert explained.

May starts

On May 4, within the framework of the exercises on the east coast of the republic, the DPRK armed forces launched ballistic short-range mobile base missiles (within 500 km). As reported by the Central Telegraph Agency of Korea, the military conducted a test of "tactical guided weapons."

According to the Joint Committee of the Chiefs of Staff of South Korea (similar to the General Staff), the missiles were launched near the city of Wonsan between 3:06 and 3:27 Moscow Time. Ammunition flew from 70 to 200 km and fell into the Sea of ​​Japan.

Another launch of ballistic missiles took place on May 9 at 10:30 Moscow time from Sinori base, 75 km from Pyongyang. Ammunition crossed 420 and 270 km, and then fell into the Sea of ​​Japan. Past trials condemned in South Korea and Japan. At the same time, US President Donald Trump noted that the North Korean missile exercises do not undermine trust between the two countries.

• Short-range missile launched towards the Sea of ​​Japan
• Reuters
• © KCNA

“Short-range missiles are a very insidious weapon, given their destructive power and short flight time. They are needed by Pyongyang mainly to contain thousands of American troops stationed in South Korea. I want to remind you that the launch of ballistic missiles does not violate the international obligations of the DPRK, ”said Murakhovsky.

To date, there is no data on what missiles North Korea has tested. In the Russian and foreign media, one can find information that Pyongyang’s arsenal includes ammunition manufactured on the basis of the Soviet single-stage R-17 liquid (Scud B in the Western classification). We are talking about missiles "Khwansson-5", "Khvanson-6", "Khvanson-9" with an estimated range of 300-500 km and a warhead weight of up to 1 thousand kg.

However, Murakhovsky is sure that North Korea launched solid-fuel ballistic missiles instead of liquid ones in May. According to him, Pyongyang-tested carriers of nuclear warheads have nothing in common with the R-17 and, perhaps, are the original design of the North Korean defense industry.

“Technologies to create short-range missiles and small-sized nuclear warheads are not something sacred, accessible only to Russia, the United States and China. The DPRK has long and hard worked on its nuclear missile program, now we see the fruits of this work. Most likely, the tested missiles have a shorter preparation time for launch, a shorter accelerating segment, and a higher speed on the trajectory, ”said Murakhovsky.

"With the world on a thread"

Work on the creation of its own short-range missile in North Korea began in the 1960s after receiving from the USSR mobile 2K6 “Luna” complexes with a 45 km solid-fuel rocket. Later, however, Moscow refused military assistance to Pyongyang.

In the 1970s, the DPRK was able to agree on the supply of Soviet tactical systems with foreign countries. For example, Egypt gave the 9K72 Elbrus complex with R-17 missiles to Pyongyang. Just on their basis, Hwason-5 and Hwason-6 were developed, and in the mid-1980s, North Korea launched their mass production.

In the 1990s, Syria supplied the DPRK solid-fuel ballistic missiles 9M79, which are part of the arsenal of the Tochka complex. In the second half of the 2000s, Pyongyang adopted a mobile tactical complex with a missile, created on the basis of 9M79. In the process of modernization, North Korean scientists managed to significantly increase the range of the munition (more than 200 km from 120).

“Pyongyang collected missile technologies, as they say, with the world on a string and tried to creatively rework them. But for the last half century Moscow has not supplied anything to the DPRK. The main "helpers", I suppose, were China and Ukraine. For example, Pyongyang made a real breakthrough in the development of ballistic missiles after the alleged transfer of rocket engine technologies by the Ukrainian enterprise Yuzhmash (Dnepropetrovsk), ”military expert Yury Knutov said in an interview with RT.

According to the analyst, largely due to the technologies obtained presumably from Ukrainian enterprises, Pyongyang has created quite effective short and medium-range missiles (from 500 to 5,500 km). Knutov considers their advantages to be more sophisticated control equipment and the ability to go into space to inaccessible heights. At the same time, the DPRK missiles are not without serious flaws.

“They have weak defenses against missile defense, they are not equipped with separating warheads. I very much doubt that missiles can make unexpected maneuvers and carry a nuclear warhead. Surely they have insufficient accuracy due to the lack of guidance tools from space like GPS and GLONASS. However, the concessions made by the United States indicate that the interception of ballistic missiles is still a difficult task for modern missile defense systems, ”Knutov said.

• Missile and artillery exercises of the DPRK army
• © KCNA

Viktor Murakhovsky does not agree with the opinion of his colleague that the DPRK’s ballistic missiles are unable to carry nuclear warheads. The expert is convinced that this problem was solved by the North Korean defense industry in previous years. Also, according to the interlocutor, the new missiles of Pyongyang have less effective scattering surface than their predecessors (makes it difficult to detect enemy radar equipment).

“I think that the launch of the DPRK rocket will be seen in the United States and South Korea, but they will not have much time to intercept. Of course, such a weapon is a potential danger, but its use is possible only as a response measure. At the same time, the US doctrinal documents suggest a preemptive nuclear strike. In my opinion, such an approach naturally spurs the development of the North Korean nuclear program, ”Murakhovsky concluded.