SEOUL, South Korea (AP) 鈥 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened 鈥渕ore offensive actions鈥 to repel what he called increasing United States-led military threats after he supervised the third test of his country鈥檚 most advanced missile designed to strike the mainland U.S., state media reported Tuesday.
Kim鈥檚 statement suggests he is confident in his growing missile arsenal and will likely continue weapons testing activities ahead of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. But many observers say North Korea still needs to perform more significant tests to prove it has functioning missiles targeting the U.S. mainland.
After watching of the Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile, Kim said the test showed how North Korea could respond if the United States were to make 鈥渁 wrong decision against it,鈥 according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
Kim stressed the need to 鈥渘ever overlook all the reckless and irresponsible military threats of the enemies 鈥 and to strongly counter them with more offensive actions,鈥 KCNA said.
The Hwasong-18 ICBM is a developmental, solid-fueled ICBM that is considered North Korea鈥檚 most powerful weapon. Its built-in solid propellant makes launches harder for outsiders to detect than liquid-fueled missiles, which must be fueled before liftoffs. But many foreign experts say North Korea still has some other technological hurdles to master to acquire reliable nuclear-tipped ICBMs, such as one to protect warheads from the harsh conditions of atmospheric reentry.
KCNA said the Hwasong-18 missile 鈥 launched at a high angle to avoid neighboring countries 鈥 flew a distance of 1,002 kilometers (622 miles) for 73.5 minutes at a maximum altitude of 6,518 kilometers (4,050 miles) before landing in an area off the North鈥檚 east coast. It said Kim expressed 鈥済reat satisfaction鈥 with the launch, which verified again the reliability of 鈥渢he most powerful strategic core striking means鈥 of North Korea.
It was the North鈥檚 third test of the Hwasong-18 missile. Its two previous launches were in and .
鈥淏ased on their statement, this looks to have been an exercise in signaling and a developmental test in one,鈥 said Ankit Panda, an expert with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing new here technically as far as I can tell at this early stage, but they鈥檙e certainly growing increasingly confident in their new solid propellant ICBM.鈥
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in Seoul, said the North鈥檚 latest ICBM test is another indicator of how far its missile engine technology has progressed, but added there are limits to what North Korea can learn from lofted trajectory firings.
鈥淒emonstrating warhead targeting and reentry capabilities would involve provocative launches across greater distances,鈥 Easley said. 鈥淪o more significant tests of both technology and diplomacy are likely in the New Year.鈥
KCNA said that a recent U.S.-South Korean meeting to discuss their nuclear deterrence plan openly revealed their intention to hold joint drills with a simulated nuclear attack on North Korea.
It referred to the second Nuclear Consultative Group meeting between senior U.S. and South Korean officials Friday. During their meeting in Washington, the two countries agreed to update their nuclear deterrence and contingency strategies and incorporate nuclear operation scenarios in their combined military exercises in the summer, according to officials in Seoul.
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said during a Cabinet Council meeting Tuesday that a 鈥渘uclear-based, powerful Korea-U.S. alliance鈥 would be formed soon.
The nuclear consultative body is responsible for sharing information on and joint operations, though the U.S. will retain operational control of its nuclear weapons. The group鈥檚 establishment was part of U.S. efforts to ease South Korean worries about North Korean provocations while keeping Seoul from pursuing its own nuclear program.
Since 2022, North Korea has performed more than 100 ballistic missile tests in violation of the United Nations鈥 bans in what outside experts call an effort to upgrade its nuclear arsenal and win greater U.S. concessions. The North has still avoided fresh international sanctions as China and Russia blocked the U.S. and others鈥 efforts to toughen U.N. sanctions on the country.
Japan鈥檚 Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said Tuesday that Tokyo is coordinating with Washington and Seoul to arrange a United Nations Security Council meeting on Wednesday to discuss the North鈥檚 latest launch. He said Japan will try to get the council to fulfill its intended role.
The United States and South Korea have expanded their military training, bolstered trilateral security cooperation with Japan and increased the temporary deployments of powerful U.S. military assets in South Korea.
On Tuesday, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan began putting into operation the sharing of real-time missile warning data on North Korea and established details of their trilateral exercises in coming years, South Korea鈥檚 Defense Ministry said in a statement.
North Korea has viewed growing U.S.-South Korea-Japan partnerships as a security threat and sought to boost its own ties with China and Russia in response. North Korea recently faced outside suspicions that it receives sophisticated weapons technologies from Russia in return for to support Russia鈥檚 war in Ukraine.
鈥淭he allies鈥 justified actions of cooperation and information-sharing will remain the Kim regime鈥檚 primary reason to concentrate greater resources and energy into its weapons program,鈥 said Soo Kim, an expert with Virginia-based consultancy LMI and a former CIA analyst.
鈥淜im (Jong Un) is clear-eyed in the regional split between the U.S.-allied countries and the North Korea-Russia-China trilateral relationship,鈥 she said. 鈥淪o while Kim continues to raise issues with the U.S.-Japan-Korea trilateral, he sees the utility in forming alliances and gravitates toward Beijing and Moscow to serve as a thorn in our side and to protect his own security and interests.鈥
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Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo contributed to this report.
