On July 30, North Korea tested two rockets near Wonsan on the country’s east coast. According to the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the projectiles reached a 30 km altitude and 250 km range. Briefed on the weapon’s performance, North Korean chairman Kim Jong Un reportedly “expressed satisfaction” with the test and warned...
On July 25, North Korea tested two ballistic missiles from a site near Wonsan, along the country’s east coast. According to South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, the missiles flew 430 and 690 kilometers respectively, landing in the Sea of Japan. Officials further stated that both missiles reached a 50 km altitude, but the weapons’...
On May 9, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) from Kusong in the country’s northwest. Launched eastward, the projectiles traveled 420 and 270 km, respectively, and reached altitudes of roughly 50 km, the South Korean Ministry of Defense reported. The launches follow a similar short-range missile test on May 4. South Korean President...
On May 4, North Korea test fired a short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) and two multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) from Wonsan on the country’s east coast. According to the state-run Korea Central News Agency (KCNA), “The purpose of the drill was to estimate and inspect the operating ability and the accuracy of striking duty performance...
On April 18, North Korean state-run media announced the country had test fired “a new-type tactical guided weapon.” The unidentified projectile traveled a short range, and at low enough altitudes to avoid detection by U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) radar. The weapon type is unclear, although analysts suspect it may be a short-range missile, rocket artillery...
On July 30, U.S. officials familiar with intelligence on North Korea told multiple media outlets that production of at least one Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is underway at the Sanumdong missile factory. The project appears to have begun after President Trump and Chairman Kim met on June 12 in Singapore to discuss denuclearization. The...
Recent reports suggest that North Korea was building facilities at a solid-fuel ballistic missile site in the lead-up to the U.S.-DPRK summit on June 12. On July 1, The Wall Street Journal reported that Planet Labs’ satellite “images analyzed by the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Calif., show that North Korea was finishing...
Due to the growing obsolescence of North Korea’s conventional military capabilities, North Korea has for decades relied on a national security strategy based on asymmetric capabilities and weapons of mass destruction. Pyongyang has invested heavily in the development of increasingly long-range ballistic missiles and the miniaturization of its nascent nuclear weapons stockpile. North Korea uses...
On December 11-12, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reportedly ordered state scientists to develop their largest rocket yet. According to a defector knowledgeable about the regime’s missile and space launch programs, the rocket will likely be designated the Unha-4 and is planned to be ready for launch on September 9, the 70th anniversary of the...
For the next two days, the United States, Japan, and South Korea will conduct a joint missile tracking exercise in the Sea of Japan. The exercise will include Aegis-equipped destroyers conducting computer-simulated training for submarine missile launches by North Korea, according to South Korean military officials. The drill comes as experts speculate that North Korea...
