US intelligence community indicates that North Korea is entering the next phase of ICBM testing

Asia-Pacific, News, US May 30, 2022 , by IRIA No Comments

North Korea conducted another ‘unusual’ ballistic missile test on May 25 in response to U.S. President Joe Biden’s visit to the region.

U.S. President Joe Biden made his first presidential work trip to Asia from May 20 to May 24, where he visited Japan and South Korea. Biden met with the newly elected leadership and administration of South Korea to discuss the peace and stability efforts in Korean Peninsula.

A day after U.S. President concluded his trip, North Korea carried out three back-to-back ballistic missile tests. One of the three missiles was an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) while the other two are suspected to be Short-Range Ballistic Missiles (SRBM).

According to the South Korean Chiefs of Joint Staff, the South Korean military detected a launch of an ICBM missile at 6:00 am on May 25. The missile flew about 360 kilometers and reached an altitude of about 540 kilometers. Shortly after the first launch at 6:37 am, a second missile was launched. Presumably an SRBM, the missile followed an unusual trajectory, and the South Korean military tracked the projectile soon after the launch and covered a distance of about 20 kilometers. The third ballistic missile flew about 760 kilometers and had an altitude of about 60 kilometers.

The Japanese military also detected the launch of at least two missiles from North Korea on May 25. Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said that the missiles followed an ‘unusual trajectory’ and one of the missiles fell close to Japan’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

The U.S. Intelligence Community has been trying to assess the differences between the capability of North Korea’s recently tested missiles and the older missiles. According to many analysts, North Korea had been trying to evaluate the working capabilities of its ICBM and SRBMs in the first phase, without focusing too much on its altitude and distance capabilities. However, the unusual trajectory of the recently tested missiles suggests that North Korea has entered into the next phase of the testing process where the altitude, distance, and other capabilities are being tested.

*^{North Korea’s Hwasong-17 ICBM was launched from the Pyongyang International Airport and flew more than 1,000 kilometers. (Image Credit: KCNA via KNS)}*

According to some defense officials, the U.S. Intelligence assessment of all three tests is still in the preliminary stages. Trajectory analysis indicates that North Korea’s next goal is to test the ability of the missiles.

The second phase of missile testing may include the use of ‘double arc’ technology, in which a re-entry vehicle detaches from the main missile body to find the target.

The test marks the 16th time that North Korea has conducted a missile test this year, including what the U.S. believes is a failed ICBM test on My 4, that exploded shortly after the launch.