The secrets behind North Korea's missile launch

(Baonghean.vn) - North Korea's latest missile launch is considered by experts to be the most important step forward in the nuclear weapons program that this isolated country in Northeast Asia has achieved.

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CNN interviewed David Schmerler, a senior fellow at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, who analyzed media footage of the launch and previous photos of the Hwasong-12 missile.

Image released by KCNA of the Hwasong-12 missile, the missile in the latest launch. Photo: Getty

The Hwasong-12 was launched on May 14 from the town of Kusong near North Korea’s west coast. “This is the first successful test launch that we know of,” Schmerler said. “One of the big differences is the smooth operation of the missile, which shows the advancement in their design capabilities. It’s much better than previous designs, which were clones, which means their ballistic missile program is moving at a rapid pace.”

Let's analyze the latest launch map:

The map shows the steep arc of the missile's trajectory. North Korea claims the missile reached an altitude of 2,111 km and flew 787 km. Analysts estimate the range at 4,500 km, which would put the US Pacific island of Guam within range.

KCNA posted a photo of leader Kim Jong-un with a map of the launch. Photo: CNN

“We see a radio antenna similar to the Musudan missile in North Korea’s first successful test,” said Schmerler. The Musudan is an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) with a range of 3,500 km.

The photos also show “a braking rocket – a solid-fuel engine that fires in the opposite direction to the missile’s trajectory. Once it reaches the desired point, the nose cone is designed to separate from the main body of the missile,” he said.

This image shows the test of a rocket engine at the Sohae satellite launch site in North Korea. Photo: CNN

The components of the Hwasong-12 missile “appear to be unique in North Korea,” likely built by North Korean engineers and not based on older Soviet designs. Mr. Schmerler said the missile is a single-stage design.

North Korea unveiled the new weapon during a military parade marking the 105th birthday of its late leader Kim Jong-un on April 15. The Hwasong-12 was not yet publicly announced at the time. The new weapon appears to be longer than the Musudan, and has a tapered nose similar to North Korea's KN-08 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).

Image of the Hwasong-12 missile mounted on a launcher vehicle. Launching directly from this vehicle limits the missile's mobility. Photo: CNN

Mr. Schmerler said it is getting harder to identify the types of North Korean missiles reported in the media. Previous missiles “used similar serial numbers in past parades, so we were able to identify the type of missile.

However, in the latest parade, they did not use the same serial code model. We are trying to understand this new system." He also said it is difficult to determine how many Hwasong-12 missiles Pyongyang owns./.

Lan Ha

(According to CNN)