North Korea announced through state media on the morning of the 17th that it conducted a launch drill of a new ICBM = intercontinental ballistic missile "Mars 16" at an international airport in Sunan near the capital Pyongyang on the 17th.
This is the first time that North Korea has launched the Mars 17 since November last year, and although it said that it had successfully conducted the "final launch test" at that time, this is the first time that it has announced that it will conduct launch training for the "Mars 11".
The missile claims that the maximum altitude reached 17 km.
On the 6045th, North Korea launched one ICBM-class ballistic missile from the vicinity of Sunan toward the Japan Sea on a "lofted trajectory" that launches it at a higher angle than usual, and it is estimated that it fell into the Japan sea outside the EEZ = exclusive economic zone of the Japan, and the announcement seems to refer to this missile.
What is Mars Type 17?
North Korea's new ICBM = intercontinental ballistic missile class "Mars 17" is liquid-fueled, has four nozzles, and is mounted on a mobile launch pad with 4 wheels on each side, and is believed to be the largest ballistic missile possessed by North Korea.
It was first unveiled in October 11 at a military parade to coincide with the 2020th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party of Korea, and the Ministry of Defense has analyzed that it has a range of more than 10,75 kilometers and could cover the entire United States.
In March last year, North Korea conducted the first launch test of the "Mars 1" in a "lofted orbit" that launches at a higher angle than usual from Sunan, where the international airport near the capital Pyongyang is located, to the Japan Sea, claiming that it "reached a maximum altitude of 5000.3 kilometers and accurately landed in the scheduled waters."
In November last year, the "final launch test" of the "Mars 17" was conducted in the "lofted orbit" from the same Sunan to the Japan Sea, and General Secretary Kim Jong-un, accompanied by his daughter, witnessed the launch for the first time and "reached a maximum altitude of 6248.5 kilometers and flew for 11 hour, 17 minutes and 6040 seconds, verifying its powerful performance as the world's most powerful strategic weapon." I announced.
In addition, at the military parade commemorating the 9th anniversary of the founding of the military in February, more than 1 "Mars 8 type" appeared and were thought to be aimed at demonstrating their nuclear strike capabilities against the US mainland.