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| Pukguksong-2 Ballistic Missile launch |
By: Mike Yeo
MELBOURNE, Australia — North Korea has showed footage and images of a new mobile, medium-range ballistic missile that it test-fired over the weekend, suggesting that the country is making advances toward making its ballistic missiles less vulnerable to tracking and preemptive strikes.
MELBOURNE, Australia — North Korea has showed footage and images of a new mobile, medium-range ballistic missile that it test-fired over the weekend, suggesting that the country is making advances toward making its ballistic missiles less vulnerable to tracking and preemptive strikes.
Named the Pukguksong-2, the missile’s naming convention appears to suggest it is a derivative of the Pukguksong-1 submarine-launched ballistic missile tested by North Korea in April 2016. According to footage released by North Korea’s state-owned Korean Central News Agency, or KCNA, the missile was carried inside a canister mounted on a previously unknown tracked transporter erector launcher, or TEL.
The missile was ejected out of the canister via cold launch before rocket ignition after the missile was clear of the TEL. Analysts who have studied the footage and imagery of the latest test say that the Pukguksong-2 is solid fueled like its sub-launched predecessor and noted changes to the shape of the warhead/reentry vehicle, with KCNA claiming it is capable of evading interception, without providing specifics.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missile was launched around 7:55 a.m. local time on Feb. 12 from North Korea’s Banghyon air base in the western North Pyongan Province, adding that it reached a apogee of 344 miles and out to about 313 miles before splashing into the Sea of Japan.
KCNA has hailed the test, which was observed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, as a success, claiming it “proved the reliability and security of the surface launch system."
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