North Korea claims to have tested a multi-warhead missile. Kim covets weapon to overwhelm US defenses

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea announced Thursday that it had successfully tested a multi-warhead missile, a sophisticated weapon coveted by leader Kim Jong Un to overwhelm missile defenses in the continental United States. The statement contradicts South Korea's assessment of a failed launch on Wednesday of another type of weapon.

The launch tested the separation and guidance control of individual mobile warheads to ensure the capability of the independent multiple re-entry vehicle, the North's official Korean Central News Agency said. The separate mobile warheads “were correctly guided towards the three coordinated targets” and a decoy that separated from the missile was verified by radar, it said.

This is North Korea's first known launch linked to the development of a multi-warhead missile, although outside experts believe it was a preliminary test.

KCNA, citing the country's missile administration, said that it is important for the strengthening of North Korea's missile forces and the development of missile technologies that the tests of this weapon have entered a large-scale phase. ladder.

A multi-warhead missile was among the high-tech weapons systems cited by Kim on his wish list at a ruling party meeting in early 2021, alongside spy satellites, solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, hypersonic weapons and submarine-launched nuclear missiles. North Korea has since carried out a series of tests to develop such weapons systems.

“I have been waiting for a MIRV test for some time now, as it was one of the last items on Kim Jong Un's modernization wish list during the 8th Party Congress in January 2021,” said Ankit Panda, senior analyst at Carnegie. Foundation for International Peace.

Panda said Wednesday's test appeared to be an initial assessment of some of the key subsystems for developing a working MIRV. He expects successive tests of the technology to follow, leading to the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile on a high trajectory.

“The presence of decoys is significant. North Korea has made no secret of its intention to strengthen and defeat US missile defenses,” Panda said. “The decoys will contribute to this effort and will likely also be integrated into their single-warhead missiles.”

The South Korean military did not immediately respond to the North's statement. But Panda said it appeared “South Korea initially misinterpreted the nature of this test.”

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday they suspected the weapon launched by North Korea was a solid-fuel hypersonic missile. The missile exploded off the North's east coast, scattering fragments into the water. It said it detected more smoke than normal launches, suggesting a possible combustion problem caused by an engine fault.

Wednesday's test was the North's first weapons test since the start of the conflict. nuclear-capable multiple rocket launchers to simulate a pre-emptive attack on South Korea almost a month ago.

In recent weeks, North Korea has also launched numerous waste balloons toward South Korea in what he described as a tit-for-tat response to South Korean activists sending political leaflets via their own balloons. In response, South Korea briefly led on June 9 propaganda broadcasts by loudspeakers in border areas for the first time in years.

Concerns about North Korea also intensified last week when Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a deal agreement requiring each country to provide aid to the other if attacked and is committed to strengthening the cooperation of others. Analysts say the deal represents the strongest bond between the two countries since the end of the Cold War.