Seoul, South Korea
CNN
—
North Korea is ready to launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) with a conventional trajectory, Kim Jong Un’s sister said in state media on Tuesday.
In a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), Kim Yo-jong, a senior official in her brother’s administration, also cast doubt on expert skepticism about North Korea’s advances in ICBM technology, particularly the weapon’s re-entry capabilities. kicked it off.
An ICBM is launched into space and travels along the outer atmosphere at high speed before the payload (nuclear warhead) slams into the target, undergoing a violent re-entry process like a space shuttle or space capsule.
If this process is not performed with pinpoint accuracy and in a material that can withstand the enormous heat it generates, the warhead will burn up before reaching its target. The process can become more difficult.
So far, North Korea has launched ballistic missiles that have reached hundreds of miles into space, tearing through the atmosphere at steep angles and mostly falling into the waters between North Korea and Japan.
To successfully target the continental United States, North Korean missiles would have to take a shallower flight path and a shallower re-entry angle.
“For several years, so-called experts have said that re-entry of our intercontinental ballistic missile into the atmosphere is neither recognized nor confirmed,” Kim Yo-jong said.
“It is clear that they are trying to denounce the capabilities of our strategic weapons with such a logic that cannot be proven by firing at lofted angles alone, but can only be known by firing at normal angles… The simple answer to that, you can try it right away, once you see it you’ll know.”
In November, North Korea claimed to have launched a “new” ICBM, the Hwasong-17.
This is one of a record 35 times this year that North Korea has conducted missile tests.
Western officials and experts also expect North Korea to test a nuclear warhead at any moment. It will be the first time since 2017 that testing, if any, will take place.
On Sunday, North Korea launched two ballistic missiles that South Korea’s military analyzed as medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBMs).
The next day, KCNA announced that the country’s space agency had conducted the “Final Gateway Process for Reconnaissance Satellite Launch”.
A photo published in the state-run Rodong Sinmun on Monday appeared to show a high-altitude black-and-white aerial view of Seoul, the South Korean capital, and the nearby city of Incheon, which is home to South Korea’s main airport. The house questioned the image’s credibility, especially given the low resolution.
In a statement on Tuesday, Kim Yo Jong defended North Korea’s recent report on testing its satellite development and dismissed skepticism from experts about the alleged aerial photos.
“The skepticism of two photos taken by a so-called South Korean expert with a color test camera and their assessment of South Korea’s satellite development and readiness is highly inappropriate and frivolous,” she said. said.
She defended that the tests were properly conducted and that the results were known to the public.
According to KCNA, she said, “Through testing, important technical indicators such as camera operation technology, communication equipment data processing and transmission capabilities, and ground control system tracking and control accuracy were confirmed in space environment conditions.”
“Our people will resolutely survive the spy satellite development project decided by our party at any cost,” he said.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s defense ministry said the US’ top-of-the-line F-22 stealth fighter is in South Korea this week for joint exercises with the South Korean military.
On Tuesday, the two allies combined their air power for exercises in the South Korean Air Defense Identification Zone near the southwestern part of Jeju Island, with US B-52 bombers deployed near the Korean peninsula. Noted, the ministry said.
South Korea’s F-35 and F-15K fighter jets participated, according to a ministry statement.
U.S. F-22s currently stationed in Japan will be in South Korea this week for training that will focus on strengthening their ability to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, he said.
