North Korea Launches Longest Ever ICBM Test in Warning to U.S.: How Diverse is its Arsenal Today?

<p >North Korea has conducted a new test of an intercontinental range ballistic missile, which was launched on a lofted trajectory to altitudes of over 7000 kilometres placing it far into outer space. The missile remained airborne for 87 minutes. In a statement on October 31, a spokesman for the North Korean Defence Ministry described the test as “crucial,” adding that it “updated the recent records of the strategic missile capability of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and demonstrated the modernity and creditability of its world’s most powerful strategic deterrent.” Chairman of the ruling Korean Workers’ Party Kim Jong Un stated that the test represented “an appropriate military action that fully meets the purpose of informing the rivals, who have intentionally escalated the regional situation and posed a threat to the security of our Republic recently.” The chairman implied that this was necessary due to adversaries’ “dangerous tightening of their nuclear alliance and various adventuristic military manoeuvres,”adding that these enemy actions “further highlight the importance of strengthening our nuclear forces.” The test demonstrated Pyongyang’s "counteraction will" against its adversaries, he further observed.</p><p ><img src=" title="Hwasong-17 ICBMs on Parade in Kim Il Sung Square, Central Pyongyang"></p><p >North Korea has flight tested four classes of ICBM in the past, including the relatively basic Hwasong-14 and its larger counterpart the Hwasong-15<a href=" first flown in July</a> and <a href=" 2017</a>, the Hwasong-17 <a href=" flown from March 2022</a>, and the solid fuelled Hwasong-18 <a href=" flown from April 2023</a>. The latter three classes subsequently entered serial production and are in active service today, with the current status of the Hwasong-14 remaining unknown. The design of the Hwasong-15 has been modernised significantly since its first test, with newer missiles being visibly distinct from the first prototype tested in 2017, and benefitting from an ‘ampulisation’ process allowing the missiles to be stored fully fuelled despite using a liquid fuel composite – thus significantly reducing its launch time. In parallel to large scale production of ICBMs, intercontinental range hypersonic glide vehicles and multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles are currently under development to further enhance North Korea’s ability to launch strategic nuclear strikes against the American mainland. </p><p ><img src=" title="North Korea`s First ICBM Launch, Hwasong-14 Launch on July 4, 2017"></p><p >The testing of North Korea’s first two ICBM classes in 2017 represented a major turning point in the country’s long conflict with the United States, with the two having remained officially in a state of war since 1950. Preceding the launches, both the Barak Obama and the Donald Trump administrations had seriously considered options for launching attacks on the small East Asian country, with advocates of attacks<a href=" target="_blank"> having stressed</a> on multiple occasions that Pyongyang’s inability to target the American mainland ensured that the cost of any such attack would be limited. The ability to hold cities across the continental United States in the firing line was thus a major game changer for North Korea’s ability to deter the United States from re-initiating open hostilities. The historical memory of the Korean War, during which American bombers <a href=" >throughly ravaged</a> the country and were responsible for killing many of the 20-30 percent of the population who died in the conflict, is thought to have remained a major influence on North Korean strategic thought today, with the country’s ability since the late 2010s to strike the U.S. mainland contrasting to its total inability to retaliate to American firebombing across its territory in the 1950s. </p>