N. Korea's ICBM test-firing imminent
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un poses for a group photo during his tour of a company under the Korean People’s Army’s Unit 233. The Korean Central News Agency reported Kim’s first inspection of the military unit in the new year, Thursday, saying he stressed the need to boost the country’s combat readiness. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
North Korea is apparently ready to test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) at any time and from any location once its leadership decides to do so, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said Thursday.
The comment came after intelligence sources said the North has probably built two missiles, presumed to be the new ICBMs, and placed them on transport erector launchers (TELs), apparently for the test-firing.
Military authorities are paying attention to the possibility that the isolated state may launch the missiles very soon to show off its nuclear and missile capabilities to the incoming government of Donald Trump who takes office today.
They believe the North has intentionally leaked the existence of the new missiles to send a “strategic message” to the United States, as several nominees for the foreign affairs and security posts of the Trump administration, including the nominee for secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, have made tough remarks about the North.
“We remain vigilant as North Korea could fire the ICBM at any time and place determined by its leadership,” a JCS official said. “South Korea and the United States are jointly operating their intelligence surveillance assets to monitor any movements in the North.”
The official added, “There is no imminent sign of provocation.”
The North’s ICBM is believed to have a range of more than 10,000 kilometers, which is capable of hitting targets on the U.S. mainland. Since 2012, the North has shown off ICBMs such as the KN-08 and the KN-14 several times without testing them.
Intelligence sources said the new missiles are estimated to not exceed 15 meters in length, making them shorter than the 19-20 meters long KN-08 and the 17-18 meters long KN-14.
The sources did not provide the exact date for when the new missiles were detected, but it is believed they were picked up around Jan. 9 when the U.S. hurriedly moved its sea-based X-band radar system to the western part of the Pacific Ocean from seas off Hawaii.
In his New Year’s message, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made it clear his country has no plans to abandon its nuclear and missile ambitions, claiming Pyongyang was in the final stages of preparations for a test-launch of an ICBM capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
The North’s state media has also claimed the ICBM will be test-fired in the near future, saying this will contribute to peace in the region.
A spokesman of the North’s foreign ministry said, Jan. 8, “The intercontinental ballistic rocket will be fired at any place and time upon the order of our leadership.”
Military experts raised the possibility that the new missiles would be equipped with a new type of high-powered engine, unveiled by the North during a ground test in April last year. But they also expressed skepticism about the completeness of the North’s ICBM capability.
Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies (IFES), a research arm of Kyungnam University, said if the North test-fires the ICBM this year, it is expected to deliberately reduce its range by igniting the first-stage propellants only and then claim that it has succeeded in launching the ICBM.
“It would take about two to three years more for the North to complete the ICBM development and five years to operationally deploy it,” he said.