North Korea has launched more than 100 missiles since early 2022, each time the regime's promoters in Pyongyang claim to have made significant progress in its nuclear weapons program.
The East Asian nation's series of tests shows that the allegations are not empty words but reflect real progress in its nuclear program, analysts said, citing analysts.
Those tests also reveal that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is working to make his arsenal of missiles easier to launch, harder to track, and one day capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
In a report by the newspaper's Seoul correspondent Min Jo Kim and Tokyo bureau chief Michelle Yi Hee Lee, diplomacy remains elusive and North Korea is sticking to its position on its nuclear ambitions.
Last September, North Korea updated its nuclear doctrine, declaring that "there will never be denuclearization, no negotiations, no bargaining chip for trade" even if international sanctions are lifted.
According to the Washington Post, Pyongyang's rhetoric and progress on nuclear weapons fueled South Koreans' desire for a nuclear deterrent. During South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's visit to the United States, his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden vowed that any North Korean nuclear attack on its southern neighbor would be "met with a rapid, overwhelming and decisive response" with a full range of U.S. capabilities, "including nuclear."
Solid-fuel rockets
So far, what has North Korea achieved so far? One of the most notable recent developments is Pyongyang's launch this month of a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile called Hwasong-18.
Kim has long sought the technology, and it's no surprise that solid fuels are easier to operate than liquid-propelled missiles, and most countries with intercontinental ballistic missiles have a combination of both.
The ballistic missile can be deployed in the open with solid fuel inside, ready for launch. Shin Seung-ki, a researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Defense Analysis, says solid fuels are more cost-effective, manageable, storage and deployment.
Multiple launch methods
In the event of a conflict on the Korean Peninsula, South Korea and the United States' top priority is to find and destroy as many North Korean nuclear launchers as possible, but North Korea is now making that task more difficult.
North Korea has test-fired several short-range ballistic missiles from a variety of locations, such as trains, submarines and mobile launchers. It now also appears to have the capability to launch rockets from underground.
Short-range missile testing
Most of North Korea's recent tests have been on short-range ballistic missiles, with the country improving capabilities at this range so that it can reach South Korea.
Pyongyang has short-range KN-23 ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. This model is similar to the Russian SS-23 missile, but its range is much farther than it.
Spy satellite
North Korea announced last week that it was ready to launch its first military reconnaissance satellite, which will help it improve its intercontinental ballistic missile technology.
Ankit Panda, a nuclear policy expert at the Carnegie Endowment for Peace, believes such a technology would help North Korea develop its capabilities in assessing the strategic military situation it currently lacks.