Wait a moment North Korea launches a new stealth ballistic missile while Kim Jong-un takes his daughter to see the missile in action
CHILLING footage shows the moment Kim Jong-un test fired his new sinister missile while he watched with his young daughter.
The North Korean despot warned that the powerful new missile would cause “constant extreme discomfort and terror” among enemies.
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Most of the country’s largest ballistic missiles use liquid propellant, which requires them to be loaded with propellant at their launch sites – a time-consuming and dangerous process.
However, the Hwasong-18 is a new solid-fuel ICBM that state media said was being tested to “radically boost” North Korea’s nuclear counterattack capability.
It is intended to make it easier for the dictator to launch an all-out nuclear strike.
Kim has stepped up arms trials in recent months amid escalating tensions over joint US-South Korea military exercises.
North Korea’s state media outlet KCNA released photos of Kim watching the latest launch, accompanied by his wife, sister Kim Yo-jong and 10-year-old daughter Kim Ju Ae.
Footage shows the rockets shooting into the sky, while images show the tyrant and his young daughter watching.
The missile was launched from the reclusive state on Thursday morning – prompting an evacuation order on the Japanese island of Hokkaido.
Fragments of the rocket fragments fell into the Sea of Japan outside the exclusive economic zone of Japan.
The missile, which was launched from near Pyongyang, flew about 1,000 km before landing in waters east of North Korea, according to officials.
Leading the test, Kim warned that enemies would “experience a clearer security crisis and constantly inflict extreme discomfort and horror on them, using deadly and offensive countermeasures until they give up their mindless thinking and reckless actions.”
South Korea’s Defense Ministry said North Korea is still developing the weapon and it needs more time and effort to master the technology, suggesting Pyongyang could conduct further tests.
Analysts said it was the North’s first use of solid propellants in an intermediate-range or ICBM.
Developing a solid-fuel ICBM has long been considered one of North Korea’s top priorities, as it could help the North deploy missiles more quickly during a war.
Ankit Panda, senior fellow of the US-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said: “For any country that operates large-scale, missile-launched nuclear forces, solid-fuel rockets are an incredibly desirable capability because they don’t have to be fueled immediately prior to use.
“These skills are much more responsive in times of crisis.”
North Korea will notably retain some liquid fuel systems, making calculations difficult for the US and its allies during a conflict, Panda said.
Vann Van Diepen, a former US government weapons expert who now works with the 38 North project, said solid-fuel rockets are easier and safer to operate and require less logistical support.
This makes them harder to detect and more survivable than liquids.
North Korea first demonstrated a possible new solid-fuel ICBM during a military parade in February after testing a high-thrust solid-fuel ICBM in December.
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