On Friday, North Korea announced that it has been testing a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), an arms breakthrough that could "radically promote" its forces as it is the type of weapon that could permit swift missile launch.
North Korean state media said that dictator Kim Jong Un had guided Thursday weapon-testing, and apparently sent a warning to political opponents that they would "experience a clearer security crisis, and constantly strike extreme uneasiness and horror into them by taking fatal and offensive counter-actions until they abandon their senseless thinking and reckless acts."
Reuters reported that analysts have said that this is the Asian country’s first use of solid propellants on a missile of its kind, a key component in being able to launch missiles quickly during wartime. However, South Korea’s defense ministry has said that the North is still developing the weapon, and that they will need more time to fully master finer details of the technology.
The outlet noted that the development of the Hwasong-18, according to the North’s state media, will "extensively reform the strategic deterrence components of the DPRK, radically promote the effectiveness of its nuclear counterattack posture and bring about a change in the practicality of its offensive military strategy.”
However, the US and South Korea responded to the tests by conducting staged drills of their own, which included B-52H bombers that were joined by F-35A, F-15, and F-16 fighter jets, according to Reuters.
South Korea’s ministry noted that by conducting these drills with the US, "the two countries will continue demonstrating our strong alliance’s will that we will never tolerate any nuclear attack from North Korea." This comes amid leaked documents from the Pentagon, some of which appear to suggest that the US government has eavesdropped on its Asian ally. But both countries have dismissed the information in the documents as being fabricated. The documents have also revealed conflicting information about the Ukraine war, especially details regarding the movement of weapons and the number of Ukrainian soldiers killed over the past year.
Japanese authorities confirmed Thursday that North Korea had launched at least one missile in their direction.
