North Korea "finally finished ICBM Hwasung-19 type"... seems to have shown off 'mounting multiple warheads'

North Korea Media Releases Video of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Launch
"Successful Test Launch of Hwasung artillery-19,"
"Maximum Peak Elevation of 7,600km…Flight for nearly 86 minutes"
In December last year, the altitude and flight time increased compared to the Hwasong-18 type.

[Anchor]
North Korea claimed that the intercontinental ballistic missile launched a day ago is the new ICBM, the Hwasong-19, and is the final completion.

If you look at the launch video, a blunt warhead stands out, and analysts say that it showed off its "multi-warhead mounting capability" targeting the United States.

I'm reporter Lee Jong Won.

[Reporter]
The launch tube slowly rises over the mobile launcher.

At the end of the countdown, a ballistic missile rises into the sky, emitting flames and roars.

North Korea has released a video of the launch, claiming that the intercontinental ballistic missile is a new ICBM, the Hwasong-19.

It rose to a maximum altitude of 7,600 kilometers, flew more than 1,000 kilometers for 85 minutes and 56 seconds, and fell into the target waters scheduled for pollution in the East Sea.

According to North Korea's claim, both peak altitude and flight time increased from the last ICBM launch, the Hwasong-18 in December last year.

Based on this, North Korea claimed that the new Hwasong-19 model broke the latest record for missile capabilities and is the final ICBM to be operated with the existing Hwasong-18.Chairman Kim Jong-un, who accompanied his daughter Joo-ae

, repeatedly stressed that he had no intention of giving up nuclear force after guiding the launch site.

[Chosun Central TV: (Chairman Kim Jong-un) has made it clear again and again that he will never change the route of strengthening nuclear force under any circumstances.]

The mobile launcher uses 11 axes, which is longer than the nine axes used at the time of the Hwasong-18 type, and the size of the missile seems to have increased.

Experts also noted that the warhead part is blunt, unlike the Hwasong-18 type, and analyzed that it is intended to show off its "capability to mount multiple warheads."

As the Hwasong-18 range is estimated to be capable of hitting the mainland U.S., it may have been developed with the aim of emphasizing destructive power by increasing the weight of warheads.

[Yang Wook / Researcher of Asan Institute for Policy Studies (YTN NewsUP): I think we used this expression to mean that we have completed a weapon system that can attack the United States enough.]

However, North Korea did not directly mention the specific purpose of the test, but analysts say it is still unclear whether it has secured atmospheric re-entry technology, which has been discussed as a possible transfer in exchange for Russian troops.

The Ministry of Unification evaluated North Korea's ICBM provocation as a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, putting pressure on the U.S. and attempting to divert the international community's attention to Russia's dispatch.

I'm YTN's Lee Jong Won.

Edit
video: Seo Young-mi