DPR Korea Space and Missiles

"North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the East Sea on Friday, the military said, in the latest show of force against the ongoing joint military exercises between South Korea and the United States.

The ballistic missile flew about 800 kilometers across North Korea before falling into waters off the country's east coast. The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missile, which was fired around 5:55 a.m. from the western area of Sukchun, is believed to be a Rodong missile."



Source: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2016/03/18/0200000000AEN20160318000700315.html?input=www.tweeter.com

1 North Korean missile blew up shortly after launch

Despite earlier claims by North Korea that it fired two ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan, two US officials tell Fox News that one blew up shortly after lift-off in an embarrassing new development for the North Korean military.

A US defense official Thursday evening said North Korea launched two ballistic missiles, but did not specify how far each missile traveled. Both missiles were Nodong medium-range ballistic missiles, based on the Soviet-era Scud-C missile.

"Neither was assessed to be a threat to the U.S. or our regional allies. These launches are a violation of multiple UN Security Council resolutions," the official said.

Both missiles were launched from mobile road launchers, making it difficult to track their movement since the launchers can be easily hidden.

One of the missiles, launched from the west coast of North Korea north of the capital, Pyongyang, flew hundreds of miles into the Sea of Japan, marking a dangerous escalation in North Korea's missile program.

The medium-range launch was the first North Korean missile capable of hitting Japan since 2014.

Earlier this week, North Korea sentenced a 21-year old American college student from the University of Virginia to 15 years of hard labor in a prison camp for steal a banner while in the communist country.
This is the second launch of missiles into the Sea of Japan this month by North Korea.

In February, North Korea launched a satellite into space on Super Bowl Sunday in the United States. The concern among Pentagon officials is that the same components used to launch the long-range rocket into space are the same components used for an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Last week, the US Air Force’s top officer told reporters North Korea did not possess the capability to put a nuclear warhead atop one of its long-range ballistic missiles. North Korean leaders a day later said they did.

Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook said the U.S. military can knock any North Korean ballistic missile out of the sky.On January 6, North Korea claimed to have detonated a hydrogen bomb, a claim later refuted by US officials.

President Obama signed new sanctions earlier this week targeting North Korea's coal industry, which some analysts suspect fuels its missile program. An earlier sanctions bill signed by the president in recent days targeted luxury goods consumed by North Korea's elite.

The missile launches coincide with annual military exercises between the United States and South Korea involving more than 10,000 troops.Three nuclear-capable B-2 bombers were sent to the region as part of the exercise in a show of force to the North Koreans.

Late Thursday, State Dept. spokesman John Kirby said used the singular when referring to the missile launch."We have seen reports that North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the Sea of Japan," said Kirby.

And just what was their evidence? Issue . US officials have a bad track record with claims and evidence (Saddams WMD's, Russian troops in Ukraine, etc).

sepheronx wrote:And just what was their evidence? Issue . US officials have a bad track record with claims and evidence (Saddams WMD's, Russian troops in Ukraine, etc).

Satellite Imagery or just like Russia tracked Israel's Arrow Missile failure in 2013. But yes their track record isn't great.

North Korea's solid-fuelled rocket engine test:

N. Korea test-fires short-range 'projectile': S. Korea

North Korea test-fired a short-range missile or rocket near its east coast Tuesday, South Korea's military said, the latest in a series of launches amid rising tension on the divided peninsula.

The North fired the "short-range projectile" near the eastern city of Wonsan around 5:40 pm (0840 GMT) which flew about 200 kilometres (124 miles) to the country's northeast, Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

"We are closely monitoring the situation and standing ready for any situations," the statement said.

The projectile appears to have fallen on land unlike previous tests when missiles were fired into the sea, Seoul's defence ministry spokesman told AFP.

It was the third such launch by the North in two weeks, as the isolated state steps up its military threats to protest ongoing Seoul-Washington joint army drills being held south of the border.

The North last Monday fired five short-range rockets or missiles into the sea off the east coast, days after test-firing two medium-range missiles.

The latest launch comes ahead of trilateral talks between the leaders of the US, Japan and the South aimed at discussing the growing threat of the nuclear-armed North.

On Thursday US President Barack Obama will meet his South Korean counterpart Park Geun-Hye and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a nuclear security forum in Washington.

Military tensions have soared on the peninsula since Pyongyang carried out its fourth atomic test in January, followed a month later by a long-range rocket launch widely seen as a disguised ballistic missile test.

The UN Security Council responded earlier this month by slapping its toughest-ever sanctions on the North.

Seoul and Washington started their largest-ever joint military drills on March 7. Since then the North has issued a series of threats, including warnings of nuclear attacks against the South and US.

NK made new static test of new ICBM engines at Sohae Space Center.

And an article that goes with it: http://www.armscontrolwonk.com/archive/1201278/north-korea-tests-a-fancy-new-rocket-engine/

North Korea’s missile launch has failed, South’s military says


North Korea tried but failed to launch an intermediate-range missile Friday, American and South Korean military officials said, dealing the regime an embarrassing blow on the most important day of the year on the North Korean calendar.

To mark the 104th anniversary of the birthday of the country’s "eternal president," Kim Il Sung, North Korea launched a missile from its east coast at about 5:30 a.m. local time. But it deviated from a "normal" trajectory, an official from South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters in Seoul.

“North Korea appears to have tried a missile launch from the East Sea [Sea of Japan] area early morning today, but it is presumed to have failed,” the official said.

But South Korea's military is still on high alert. "We are preparing against the possibility that the North could carry out heavyweight provocations at any time, including the fifth nuclear test," a military official said, according to the Yonhap News Agency.



A U.S. defense official said that the U.S. Strategic Command systems had also “detected and tracked” the missile. “We assess that the launch failed,” he said.

Initial analysis suggested that the missile was a Musudan, also known as a BM-25, the kind that South Korean authorities had detected being moved Thursday near Wonsan on North Korea’s east coast.

The Musudan is an intermediate-range ballistic missile capable of traveling 1,500 to 2,500 miles — putting the U.S. territory of Guam within reach — and of carrying a 1.3-ton nuclear warhead, according to the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

North Korea has displayed the Musudan at its military parades and is believed to have supplied assembly kits for the missile to Iran, but it had never tested this model of missile before.


Jeffrey Lewis, head of the East Asia program at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies in California, said the failure would “reinforce the persistent denial” about North Korea’s capabilities.

“But in fact, they will have learned a lot from this launch. Not as much as they would have learned if it had succeeded, but still something,” Lewis said.

The Musudan uses the same sort of engine as the submarine-launched ballistic missile that North Korea tested last year but that also failed.

“Clearly they have a problem, but maybe next time it will work. It took them a couple of launches to get the Taepodong-2 going,” Lewis said, referring to the ballistic-missile technology that has now put two North Korean satellites into orbit.

At the same time, North Korea has been making a series of claims about technological advances, from building solid-fuel rocket engines to miniaturizing nuclear warheads. The regime recently claimed that it could send a ­nuclear-tipped missile to the U.S. mainland.

Although this has not been proved, U.S. military officials and nonproliferation experts say that North Korea is clearly working toward this goal. The Musudan test could be part of this program.

At a hearing of a Senate Armed Services subcommittee this week, Brian McKeon, a senior Pentagon official, said North Korea’s weapons and missile programs pose a growing threat to the United States and its allies in East Asia.

North Korea is “seeking to develop longer-range ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons to the United States and continues efforts to bring [a road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile] to operational capacity,” he said.

Although an untested long-range missile was unlikely to be reliable, North Korea’s successful satellite launches showed it was mastering the technologies that would be needed, McKeon said.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency said North Korea’s failed firing of a mid-range ballistic missile Friday was “the latest in a string of saber-rattling that, if unchecked, will lead the country to nowhere.”

Since Kim Jong Un ordered his military to conduct a fourth nuclear test in January — which North Korea claimed was a hydrogen-bomb explosion, although outside experts are highly skeptical — there has been a steady stream of projectiles emanating from North Korea.

In February, Kim oversaw the launch of what North Korea said was a satellite launch vehicle but which was widely viewed as part of an intercontinental ballistic missile program. Since then, there have been numerous short-range missile launches and rockets fired into the Sea of Japan.

North Korea is banned by U.N. Security Council resolutions from launching ballistic missiles or carrying out nuclear tests, but it continues to do so.

The international community has responded to North Korea’s latest provocations with tough sanctions aimed at cutting off the state’s ability to procure parts and finance its weapons-of-mass-destruction program.

This push coincided with two-month-long drills between the U.S. and South Korean militaries, during which they are practicing their response to the collapse of North Korea. The drills, which conclude at the end of this month, include computer-simulated “decapitation strikes” on the North Korean leadership.

Amid this background of heightened tensions, North Korea has been preparing for two key events — the anniversary of Kim Il Sung’s birth and the first congress of the communist Workers’ Party in 36 years.

The country is in the grip of a “70-day campaign” to prepare for the congress, set for early next month. Analysts expect Kim Jong Un to use the event to bolster his legitimacy.

Kim, who is 33, is not only incredibly young by the standards of Korea, where age is revered, but he also did not have the kind of long preparation and introduction that his father and predecessor, Kim Jong Il, enjoyed.

N. Korea claims successful test of submarine missile

North Korea says it has successfully test-fired a ballistic missile from a submarine and strengthened its nuclear attack capabilities.

Hours before the announcement by North Korea's state media Sunday, South Korean military officials said the North had fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile from a submarine off its eastern coast.

While South Korean experts say it's unlikely that North Korea currently possesses an operational submarine that can fire multiple missiles, they acknowledge that the North is making progress on such technology.

The North's Korean Central News Agency said leader Kim Jong Un had observed from the test facility as the ballistic missile surged from a submarine and spew out a "massive stream of flames" as it soared into the sky and met all technical thresholds.

So this was yet another test for ejection.
I think the missile will have a different nose profile in the next 1-2 years time like we saw with the long-ranger.

What the Koreans need now is a good platform which can carry 16 of these. A good solution would be to have those pr.667BRD or much more preferably the pr.667BRDM....or a design based on it but with a single shaft propulsion. Its high time Russia moved out of those stupid sanctions and create a solid flank against an adversary who is hell bend on setting fire in its neighborhoods and destroy it.    

Btw, this looks like the official twitter related to DPRK, not sure though. But it doesnt look fake. The earlier one I posted was clearly a fake and probably made by murican dickheads.
https://twitter.com/uriminzok_engl
http://www.uriminzokkiri.com/index.php?ptype=english

Test Indicates Improved N. Korea SLBM Tech

North Korea on Sunday claimed it had successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile, after which the South Korean military said Pyongyang has made “considerable progress” in developing the advanced weapon system, which could be deployed within the next three to four years.

The Seoul government condemned the SLBM launch, and called it a clear violation of the U.N. Security Council resolution.

“The (South Korean) government has warned multiple times that North Korea will face a more powerful and firm response from the international community, should it continue to carry out further provocations,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “In addition to dedicated implementation of the UNSC resolution, the international community will strengthen the sanction and pressure against the North.”

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches the launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile in a photo released by the Korean Central News Agency on Sunday. (Yonhap)

Pyongyang’s state-run Korea Central News Agency said the underwater test-firing conducted Saturday was “a complete success” under the supervision of state leader Kim Jong-un.

“We (North Korea) now have another powerful means to deliver a nuclear strike, in accordance to the (state) party’s strategic plans. ... Our navy’s operational capacities have been extremely enhanced,” Kim was quoted as saying.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry said the North is hastening the development of the SLBM, which has the distinct advantage of being stealthier when fired from a submarine.

“Compared to other countries with SLBMs, the actual deployment of the SLBM is expected to be 3-4 years. But there is also a possibility that it may take less time if they (Pyongyang) concentrate efforts on this issue,” said ministry spokesman Moon Sang-kyun.

Saturday’s launch was assessed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff to have flown 30 kilometers, far less than the known minimum range for the KN-11 SLBM at 300 kilometers.

While experts doubt Pyongyang’s claim of a successful flight and detonation, it is presumed to have at least successfully conducted a “cold launch,” which refers a missile being expelled first from a platform and then igniting in midair. This is crucial in submarine launches to prevent damage to the vessel.

Pyongyang conducted an unsuccessful underwater SLBM launch in November, with its subsequent launch in the following month was presumed to have been from a barge, not a submarine.

The KCNA claimed the latest test verified the stability of the cold launch system at maximum depth. Military experts view a depth of at least 20 to 30 meters to be significant in deeming the test launch’s success.

The depth of Saturday’s launch is presumed to be far less, at 10-15 meters.

North Korea has been stepping up claims about its nuclear and missile capacities, even firing its intermediate-range Musudan ballistic missile earlier in the month for the first time. That launch was assessed to have been a failure.

The U.N. last month imposed what officials have called “the strongest sanctions ever” against the hermit kingdom as punitive action for its Jan. 6 nuclear test and Feb. 7 long-range rocket launch.

Also on Saturday, North Korea’s foreign minister Ri Su-yong in New York said his country is ready to halt its nuclear tests on the condition that South Korea and the U.S. discontinue their annual joint military drills.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Ri said the recent escalation had been prompted by the Seoul-Washington military exercise. South Korean military officials had said that this year’s Key Resolve and Foal Eagle exercise would be “the largest ever” in terms of size and military assets deployed.

There had been widespread speculation in South Korea that the North is likely to conduct a fifth nuclear test before its ruling party’s convention in early May to rally the support of citizens behind the Kim regime, while simultaneously pressuring the international community.

The South Korean military has been on alert based on the government’s prediction the test may take place around Monday, which marks the anniversary for the creation of the North’s state army.

North Korea, which has stepped up demonstrations of its arsenal recently, reportedly deployed 300 multiple-rocket launchers near the inter-Korea borders. The new 122-millimeter caliber launcher is known to have a maximum range of 40 kilometers, putting Seoul and Gyeonggi Province within its range.

North Korea's Midrange Ballistic Missile Launch Fails

North Korea carried out an unsuccessful launch of a midrange ballistic missile, South Korean media reported Thursday, citing military sources.

If confirmed, this would be the second failed launch of the Musudan missiles (also known as Rodong-B or BM-25) this month. Seoul accused Pyongyang of launching the same type of missile on April 15.

The unnamed South Korean military official assessed that "it is highly likely that the launch failed."

"With that in mind, South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed assessment," the official added.

In early January, North Korea successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test, putting a satellite into orbit a month later, in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. In March, North Korea conducted multiple short and medium-range rocket launches.

In response to North Korea's recent activities, South Korea and the United States have launched large-scale military drills in the region. The exercises, expected to last through April 30, include rehearsals of strikes on North Korea’s missile and nuclear facilities in case of war. Pyongyang has labelled the drills as provocation.

US Strategic Command Detects 2 Attempted N Korean Missile Launches

Read more: http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160428/1038779952/korea-missile-us-command.html#ixzz47AuMY58k

Two failed launches in recent days for their Rodong-B MRBM, which I think is the official name of the missile based on BM-25 Musudan, need to be looked into.

Though it might be relaxing for the Western pundits and their clowns in the southern parts to see any failures, what we need to look into is whether we are seeing a new variant of the missile being tested. The BM-25 Musudan is a liquid fueled missile and the Korean missile till recently was termed as being a liquid fueled missile.

But in the span of past 6 months (and more) we have seen a new development which is the submarine/under water launched/ejected ballistic missile. We heard it was powered by liquid fueled engine and after a few tests with that engine we saw the recent missile launch with a new solid fueled rocket engine. In short they were already in the works to change the propulsion unit to a solid fueled one.
Just to remind we also had seen those static tests of the solid fueled rocket motors.

What we can be sure is that the solid fueled version of the SLBM has been in the works since the first tests happened. And I'm inclined to believe that the same development was going on for the land based Musudan missiles which probably is exactly the same as the SLBM variant (?).  

So there is a fair chance that what we witnessed very recently as two failures for the land based Musudan missiles could be some sort of tests (which again can be a complete success/limited success/failure) for the new solid rocket motors on real missiles. It is also possible that the Koreans have manufactured 10-15 solid rocket engines as a first/trial/test batch and these are what we see getting tested??? Not sure....

If I'm not wrong its safe to assume that there are two static solid rocket motors that we saw in testing. Another one we saw powering the recent SLBM launch and then there was three tests of land based Musudan including the very recent two failed missile tests, which flew only for few seconds. So what we probably saw might be yet another two tests for the same solid fueled rocket engine (?).

The SLBM tests is basically to test/validate the ejection system which I think can continue independently of the engine being used so I guess we might see more tests for these land based missiles. The SLBM tests might revert to the liquid fueled variant if they have already manufactured/assembled few more units with the liquid fueled motors.
Btw, If by chance we see the next SLBM launch with a liquid fueled motor, expect the media to claim the solid fueled rocket motor development was a complete disaster.    

Btw, Korea needs to learn from Japan rocket launch and use this solid fueled rocket engine as their first stage for their next space launch.

Korea is said to have started deploying long-rangers near the Chinese border.

http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2016/05/13/2016051301458.html

N.Korea Deploys Missiles Along Chinese Border

North Korea is in the process of deploying mobile ballistic missiles with a maximum range of 12,000 km at three or four frontline bases along its border with China, it emerged Thursday.

U.S. intelligence officials have said a couple of times since last year that the North has taken steps toward the deployment of the KN-08 ballistic missiles without test flights.

National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA)


Good description and collection on Korean space programme and rockets, click the links for reading.
Paektusan (TD-1)
Unah-1
Unha-2
Unah-3

There seems to be a series of Unah rockets planned for future launches. Good luck to them. One thing Korea needs to do is built up this civilian capability and bring in international customers from poorer countries and launch of small satellites from from universities and students. It will be another big task to bring them to launch their satellites from Korea, once the satellite launchers have been made reliable. But the likely low cost in launching from Korea are going to turn some heads to the north Korean direction. A positive attitude from Russia and China in that respect would do good for the civilian launches. 

Unah-9

2013, January -- North Korea exhibited the model of an Unha-9 rocket on December 21, 2012. It was shown on a party for the scientists and engineers related to a satellite launch in this day in Pyongyang.
On January 03, the Internet edition of Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, quoted unidentified scientists as saying they would launch further six rockets carrying satellites.
"We will launch rockets until they reach Unha-9," the scientists said. The Dec. 12 launch was Unha-3, a designation that increases incrementally with each liftoff.
Unha 4 and 5 to launch Earth observation satellites. Unha-6, 7 and 8 to launch communication satellites. Unha-9 to launch Lunar orbiter.

Note: The first stage of the Unha-9 model is about 2.5 m. Maybe this model is only a phantom because the launch tower on the Sohae SLF already is changed for a larger SLV of about 50 m length.

Unah-X
Speculated new rocket in Unah series, maybe we get to see this (or a similar) one in flight the next 2-3 years?

I couldn't find the video of the earlier reports probably around 2012 or so regarding Korea that I had watched on NHK world, anyway here is the one from 2015

http://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/newsroomtokyo/aired/20151007.html

Assessment of the Korean long-rangers from western analyst. 2013
A Revised Assessment of the North Korean KN-08 ICBM

South Korea Says North Fails With Attempted Missile Launch

North Korea apparently failed with an attempted missile launch Tuesday, the latest in a series of setbacks for a ballistic weapons program that aspires to threaten the US mainland.

South Korea's defense ministry detected the dawn launch effort, which Japan condemned as an unacceptable and "provocative" act.

The ministry declined to speculate on the missile type, but military sources cited by local media said it was a powerful, medium-range "Musudan" that has already undergone three failed launches this year.

North Korea missile reaches new heights, "intensifying" threat to Japan

North Korea launched what appeared to be an intermediate-range missile on Wednesday to a high altitude in the direction of Japan before it plunged into the sea, military officials said, a technological advance for the isolated state after several test failures.

The launch came about two hours after a similar test failed, South Korea's military said, and covered 400 km (250 miles), more than halfway towards the southwest coast of Japan's main island of Honshu.

The launches and earlier nuclear tests show continued defiance of international warnings and a series of U.N. Security Council resolutions and sanctions, which North Korea rejects as an infringement of its sovereignty.

Japanese Defence Minister Gen Nakatani said the second missile reached an altitude of 1,000 km (620 miles), indicating North Korea had made progress.

"We don't know whether it counts as a success, but North Korea has shown some capability with IRBMs (intermediate range ballistic missiles)," he told reporters in Tokyo.

"The threat to Japan is intensifying."

Reclusive North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. The North regularly threatens to destroy the Japan, South Korea and the South's main ally, the United States.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye denounced the test.

"The North Korean regime must realise that complete isolation and self-destruction await at the end of reckless provocation," she said.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also decried North Korea's "provocative actions".

"I strongly condemn the launch by North Korea of two ballistic missiles," Stoltenberg said in a statement.

"These repeated provocative actions ... undermine international security and dialogue," he said, calling for North Korea to "fully comply with its obligations under international law, not to threaten with or conduct any launches using ballistic missile technology and to refrain from any further provocative actions".

The first missile was launched from the east coast city of Wonsan, a South Korean official said, the same area where previous tests of intermediate-range missiles were conducted, possibly using mobile launchers.

FIFTH STRAIGHT FAILURE

South Korea's Yonhap news agency, quoting a government official, said the first missile disintegrated mid-air after a flight of about 150 km (95 miles).

Wednesday's first launch was the fifth straight unsuccessful attempt in the past two months to launch a missile that is designed to fly more than 3,000 km (1,800 miles) and could theoretically reach any part of Japan and the U.S. territory of Guam.

Jeffrey Lewis, of the California-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies, said missiles were usually fired at a certain angle to maximise range, so the high altitude of the second launch may have been chosen to avoid Japanese airspace.

"That suggests the missile worked perfectly," Lewis said. "Had it been fired at its normal angle, it would have flown to its full range."

Lewis said failures were a normal part of testing and that North Korea would fix problems with the Musudan intermediate-range missile sooner or later.

"If North Korea continues testing, eventually its missileers will use the same technology in a missile that can threaten the United States," Lewis told Reuters.

Nakatani said North Korea's repeated missile launches were a "serious provocation" and could not be tolerated.

Japan indicated after the first launch that it would protest strongly because it violated U.N. resolutions, even though the launches posed no immediate threat to Japanese security.

In Seoul, South Korea's presidential office said a national security meeting was convened to discuss the latest missile launches.

LONGER-RANGE ROCKETS

The U.S. military detected the two missiles, most likely Musudan, from North Korea, the U.S. military's Pacific Command said. A Pentagon spokesman said both missiles fell into the Sea of Japan. North Korea is believed to have up to 30 Musudan missiles, according to South Korean media, which officials said were first deployed around 2007, although the North had never attempted to test-fire them until April.

While North Korea has developed potential longer-range rockets, such as its 30-metre (98 ft) Unha-3, a home-grown three-stage rocket based on 1950s Soviet Scud missile technology, it needs to be fuelled from a fixed launch pad making it easy to detect and impractical as a weapon.

A smaller, powerful intermediate missile that is easier to deploy on a mobile launcher poses a harder threat to counter.

The U.N. Security Council, backed by the North's main diplomatic ally, China, imposed tough new sanctions in March after North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January and launched a long-range rocket that put an object into space orbit.

"At present, the situation on the peninsula remains very complex and severe. We think that the relevant party should avoid doing anything to further worsen tensions," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying told reporters at a regular press briefing on Wednesday.

North Korea has conducted a series of tests since then that it claimed showed progress in nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missile capabilities, including new rocket engines and simulated atmospheric re-entry.

Joseph Dempsey ‏@JosephHDempsey  Jun 21
#NorthKorea 5th (150km) & 6th (400km) launch of #Musudan IRBM represent clear progress not failure

NYT article was much more detailed in terms of test validation quoting the Korean press release. Highlighting only the useful parts related to the missile test cutting the usual "moral high" crap thats a necessity for msm to survive.

North Korea’s Successful Missile Test Shows Program’s Progress, Analysts Say
By CHOE SANG-HUNJUNE 22, 2016

SEOUL, South Korea — A day after North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile into high altitude — after five consecutive launch failures — the country’s state-run media proclaimed the test a success on Thursday, and quoted Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, as boasting that his arsenal could strike United States forces in the Pacific.

The projectile took off from Wonsan, a port city east of Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, and flew about 250 miles over the sea between North Korea and Japan, South Korea’s Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a statement.

According to the North’s media reports, Mr. Kim attended the launch of the Hwasong-10 missile, known to the outside world as the Musudan. The reports included photographs of the blastoff from a mobile launch vehicle.

The test, confirmed and condemned by the United States and its allies, demonstrated that North Korea was making progress at posing a direct threat to Japan, South Korea and American troops in the Pacific. Mr. Kim said the test “marked an important occasion in further strengthening the nuclear attack capacity” of his country, according to the North’s official Korean Central News Agency.

“We have the sure capability to attack, in an overall and practical way, the Americans in the Pacific operation theater,” Mr. Kim said, calling for his country to continue increasing its “pre-emptive nuclear attack capability.”

North Korea said that the missile accurately landed in targeted waters 250 miles away after reaching an altitude of 878 miles, and that it had fired the missile at a sharper angle to demonstrate its potential to reach the estimated full range of more than 2,000 miles — far enough to reach American military bases in the Pacific — without actually covering that distance. The high altitude also gave North Korea’s engineers an opportunity to test the heat-resistance capability of their warhead, the country’s media reports said.

The test was the first for the Musudan that was not immediately dismissed as a failure by the United States or South Korea.

Five Musudan tests over the past two months — including one earlier on Wednesday — all crashed into the sea or exploded soon after liftoff, according to South Korean military estimates.

Establishing that the missile can work is essential, both politically and strategically, to Mr. Kim. As he has solidified his hold on power, he has made the nuclear and missile programs — and the threat they pose to much larger powers in the region — a key element of his claim to rule.

Last month, American and South Korean intelligence officials said they had concluded that North Korea could now mount a small nuclear warhead on short- and medium-range missiles, a category that includes the Musudan. But Mr. Kim has never tested the two together, leaving it unclear whether his nuclear designs could withstand the stresses of delivering a weapon to its target.

The Musudan’s progress has been followed closely by United States military and intelligence officials. It is a road-mobile missile, meaning it can move around the country, making it a harder target to hit in a pre-emptive strike. The Musudan is the North’s only intermediate-range ballistic missile able to reach United States military bases in Guam, a major launching pad for American reinforcements should a war break out on the Korean Peninsula.

Analysts say the North has been struggling to master the so-called warhead re-entry technology needed to build longer-range projectiles known as intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The progress the North demonstrated with its sixth test was disconcerting enough for South Korea to convene a meeting of its top security officials to discuss the growing missile and nuclear threats. But such meetings rarely generate more than a promise to tighten sanctions.

Jeong Joon-hee, a spokesman for the South Korean government, called the launch a “clear provocation” that violated United Nations Security Council resolutions banning the North from developing ballistic missile technology.

Samantha Power, the United States ambassador to the United Nations, on her way to a Security Council session Thursday night to discuss the missile tests, called the latest launch “unacceptable.”

“It’s worthy of Council unity, which I expect, and it’s worthy of prompt condemnation,” she said.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan said the latest missile test was “a clear violation of United Nations resolutions.”

“We cannot tolerate it and have protested firmly,” he said.

The Japanese Defense Ministry said it believed the test showed that the North’s missile technology was advancing.

South Korean analysts said that North Korea appeared to have launched the second missile at a sharper angle to achieve a higher altitude and prevent it from flying over Japan. They said such an altitude was required to test technology that protects a nuclear warhead from the extreme heat and friction encountered upon breaching the earth’s atmosphere.

The North began testing the Musudan on April 15, after repeated calls by Mr. Kim for his military to conduct more nuclear and missile tests despite international sanctions. It has also repeatedly threatened nuclear strikes against the United States, saying that it has built nuclear weapons small enough to be mounted on its various ballistic missiles.

The country has successfully tested its short-range Scud and midrange Rodong missiles. The Rodong, with an estimated range of 810 miles, can reach all of South Korea and most of Japan.

The altitude reached on Wednesday was the highest achieved by any North Korean missile, and close to heights reached by intercontinental ballistic missiles, analysts said.

“The test appears to have been fully successful,” said Jeffrey Lewis, an analyst at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. He said that if North Korea had launched the missile on a normal trajectory, it would have flown the full range of about 2,480 miles.

Mr. Lewis said the development of the Musudan is especially worrisome because it also advances the North’s KN-08 program — the development of its first intercontinental ballistic missile with a range to reach the continental United States. The first stage of the KN-08 missile comprises a pair of Musudan-type engines, he said.

From official Korean report.

The test-fire of Hwasong-10 was carried out by the high-angle fire system under the simulation of its maximum range.

The ballistic missile took off a self-propelled launching ramp and accurately landed in the targeted waters forward 400 km after flying to the maximum height of 1 413.6 km along the planned flight orbit.

The test-fire confirmed the flying kinetic feature of Korean-style ballistic missile with an updated system and its safety and control as well as the technical specifications of newly-designed rocket structure and its dynamic system. It also verified the heat-resistance capability of warhead in the re-entry section and its flight stability.

It provided a sure sci-tech guarantee for developing the system of strategic weapons.

The test-fire was successfully conducted without giving any slightest effect to the security of surrounding countries.

http://www.naenara.com.kp/en/news/news_view.php?22+3032

A test launch of a North Korean missile Musudan
bmpd
June 23rd, 14:56

As reported by American sources, on 21 and 22 June 2016 North Korea has conducted two test launches of ballistic missiles rolling missile complex medium-range missiles known as Musudan (BM-25, also known under the designations Rodong-B or Hwasong-10) missile site near Wonsan on the East coast of the country. According to the American and Japanese data the first start was unsuccessful (the missile fell into the sea, flying about 150 km), and the second June 22 - apparently successful, was made on a small range (about 400 km; design maximum range Musudan is estimated to be from 2500 to 4000 km), while the missile is on a ballistic trajectory in flight reached an altitude of about 1000 km (according to official North Korean message 1413,6 km).

It was the fifth and sixth test-firing Musudan, with all four previous ones (produced in April-may 2016) are considered unsuccessful. If starting June 22, to be effective, it is the first significant practical success in the development of this North Korean program. The Musudan missile was developed, presumably based on the old liquid Soviet ballistic missile submarines R-27 with the use of technology and documentation R-27 from 1990-e years the Russian State rocket center named after academician V. P. Makeeva.

http://bmpd.livejournal.com/1976526.html