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North Korea confirms missile test among new sanctions imposed on train Nuclear Weapons News

North Korea on Saturday confirmed that it had fired ballistic missiles at a test from a train. apparent revenge against new punishments Established by the United States.

The official North Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said the drill was aimed at “verifying and judging the missile’s skill in action procedures,” and added that the two guided missiles hit a target set in the East Sea.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that its latest projectiles flew about 430 kilometers (267 miles) at an altitude of 36 kilometers (22 miles) and a maximum speed of Mach 6 (7,350 kilometers per hour), six times the speed of sound. .

A South Korean military report on Friday said the South Korean military said on Friday that its neighboring country had fired two missiles into the sea in a third weapon launch this month.

Pyongyang’s Foreign Ministry released a statement of disapproval and launched a few hours later The United States has imposed new sanctions on previous tests in the North and warned of stronger and more explicit action if Washington maintains its “confrontational stance.”

In recent months, North Korea has stepped up tests on new missiles designed to overcome the region’s missile defense, including closing pandemic-related borders and freezing nuclear diplomacy with the United States.

Some experts say that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is returning to a tried-and-tested technique of pressuring missile shots and horrific threats to neighboring countries and the United States before offering to negotiate concessions.

The KCNA said Friday’s exercise was to check the alert attitude of the missile regiment transported by its army rail.

Troops rushed to the firing range after being ordered to test missiles, and fired two “guided tactical” missiles, accurately hitting a target at sea, the report said.

North Korea’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper has published photos of what appeared to be two different missiles mounted on smoke-swallowed train carriages.

Cheong Seong-chang, an analyst at South Korea’s private Sejong Institute, said North Korea had probably planned an unannounced launch to show its stance against US sanctions.

Solid fuel short-range weapon

Missiles fired from railway wagons were apparently a short-range solid-fuel weapon by North Korea, apparently modeled on Russia’s mobile Iskander ballistic system.

It was first tested in 2019 to make the missile maneuverable and designed to fly at low altitudes, improving the chances of preventing and defeating missile systems.

North Korea launched its missiles for the first time in September last year as part of an effort to diversify its range of shots from a train, which now includes several vehicles and eventually submarines, as the country has made progress toward achieving those capabilities.

Launching a missile from a train can add to mobility, but some experts say that the simple rail network that runs through its relatively small territory in North Korea will be quickly destroyed by enemies in a crisis.

The Biden administration on Wednesday imposed sanctions on five North Koreans for their role in equipping them with equipment and technology for their country’s missile programs, in response to North Korea’s previous tests this month.

The announcement by the Treasury Department came just hours after North Korea said Kim oversaw a successful test of a hypersonic missile on Tuesday he said the country’s nuclear “war deterrence” would greatly increase. Tuesday’s test was North Korea’s second demonstration of its alleged hypersonic missile in a week.

A few hours before its launch on Friday, the KCNA issued a statement blaming an unknown spokesman for the North Korean Foreign Ministry, stressing that the new sanctions underscore the U.S. enemy’s intent to “isolate and drown” the country.

Hypersonal weapons, such as Mach 5 (6,125 km / h) or more than five times the speed of sound, can be a crucial challenge for missile defense because of their speed and maneuverability.

Such weapons were on a list of sophisticated military assets introduced by Kim earlier this year, along with multi-headed missiles, satellite spies, long-range solid-fuel missiles and nuclear missiles fired by submarines.

However, experts say North Korea would need years of successful and longer tests to get a credible hypersonic system.

A U.S.-led diplomatic push aimed at convincing North Korea to suspend its nuclear weapons program fell in 2019 after the Trump administration rejected Pyongyang’s demands for heavy sanctions in exchange for a partial surrender of its nuclear capabilities.

Since then, Kim has pledged to further expand the nuclear arsenal, which he sees as the strongest guarantee of his survival, despite major setbacks in the country’s economy, closing the pandemic-related borders and continuing US-led sanctions.

His government has so far ruled him out The Biden administration has called for an unconditional dialogue, saying that the US should put aside “enemy policy” first, a term used by Pyongyang primarily to describe sanctions and US-South Korea combined military exercises.




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