Experts are skeptical North Korea boasts "most powerful rocket in the world"

North Korea has tested a new intercontinental ballistic missile. The Hwasong-19 is a "perfected weapon system". Experts consider this statement to be pure propaganda.

On Friday, North Korea claimed that its recently tested intercontinental ballistic missile was the most powerful in the world. The Hwasong-19 is a "perfected weapon system", the state news agency KCNA also announced. Experts consider this statement to be pure propaganda and the missile to be too large to actually give North Korea an advantage in a war.

The color and shape of the flames shooting out of the engine, which can be seen in KCNA photos of the launch, indicate that the missile is powered by solid fuel. This is introduced into the rocket long before it is used. This shortens the immediate launch preparations. Liquid-propelled rockets, on the other hand, have to be refueled before launch. This takes some time, making them easier to detect during the process.

According to experts, the photos of the latest test launch presented by KCNA show that both the rocket and its transport vehicle are oversized. This raises the question of whether they are really so mobile that they cannot be detected and destroyed by the enemy before launch.

"What happens when the missiles get bigger? The vehicles get bigger too. When the missile transporters get bigger, their mobility decreases," says Lee Sangmin, an expert at the South Korean Korea Institute for Defense Analyses.

Missile expert Chang Young Keun from the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy in Seoul estimates that the Hwasong-19 is at least 28 meters long, while modern US and Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles measure less than 20 meters. The size of the missile probably contributed to the fact that the South Korean secret services knew about the planned test before the launch.

"In the event of a conflict, such exposure makes the weapon the target of a pre-emptive attack by the enemy," says Chang.

North Korea has made steady progress in the development of nuclear missiles in recent years and, according to experts, can probably attack the whole of South Korea with such projectiles. However, North Korea does not yet have reliable missiles with which it can attack the US mainland. The problem with such intercontinental missiles is that their warheads have to withstand extreme heat and other stresses when they re-enter the atmosphere. The guidance system also needs to be improved.

JapanNorth Korea tests suspected intercontinental ballistic missile

Although North Korea has also trumpeted successes in this respect, foreign experts are skeptical. In June, North Korea claimed to have tested a missile with multiple warheads capable of overcoming enemy missile defenses for the first time. South Korea, however, declared that the weapon had exploded. In July, North Korea announced the launch of a tactical missile for "super-sized warheads". South Korea, on the other hand, spoke of an attempt to cover up a botched launch.

Missiles with ever greater range

Lee believes that developing technology for the re-entry of warheads into the atmosphere is actually North Korea's most important goal at the moment. Instead, however, the country is building missiles with ever greater ranges. "This may indicate that they do not yet have confidence in their re-entry technology," says Lee.

Nevertheless, North Korea's missile program is a major security problem in the region, as the country openly threatens to use nuclear weapons. In addition, North Korea has deployed troops to the Russian-Ukrainian border. South Korea, the USA and others fear that North Korea could receive Russian high technology in return in order to put its missile development problems behind it.

dpa