North Korea has released photographs of which it said were taken from its most powerful missile launch in five years.
The unusual pictures taken from space show parts of the Korean peninsula and surrounding areas.
Pyongyang confirmed on Monday, January 31, 2022, that it had tested a Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM).
At its full power, it has the potential to travel thousands of miles, putting areas like US territory Guam within striking distance.
The latest test has raised alarm again among the international community.
Pyongyang has conducted a record number of seven missile launches in the past month alone, causing an intense flurry of activity that has been strongly condemned by the US, South Korea, Japan, and other nations.
The UN prohibits North Korea from ballistic and nuclear weapons tests and has imposed strict sanctions. But the East Asian state has regularly defied the ban.
US officials on Monday, January 31, 2022, said the recent step-up in activity warranted renewed talks with Pyongyang.
What happened at the Hwasong-12 launch?
South Korea and Japan were both the first to report the launch on Sunday, January 30, 2022, after detecting it in their anti-missile systems.
They estimated it had flown a moderate distance for an IRBM, covering a distance of about 800km (497 miles) and reaching an altitude of 2,000km before it landed in waters off Japan. At full power and at a standard trajectory, the missile can travel as far as 4,000km.
North Korea made the missile launch confirmation on Monday, January 31, 2022, through reports from its state-run media. The country’s rascal tests are typically disclosed by state media a day after their occurrence.
According to the media, the missile test had been launched to “verify its accuracy”. It had been deliberately angled to land away “in consideration of the security of the neighbouring countries”.
The media also printed unusual images, some of which they said were shots taken by a camera fitted to the missile’s warhead.
Two of the images show the moment of launch and the other apparently shows the missile in mid-flight, taken from above.
North Korea Leader, Kim Jong-un was not present to observe Sunday’s (January 30, 2022) launch, compared to three weeks ago, when pictures showed his attendance at the launch of a hypersonic glide missile test, which is a more advanced missile technology designed to circumvent missile-detection systems. Those missiles have only been tested by North Korea three times in total.
Why did North Korea fire the missile?
North Korea analyst, Ankit Panda said Mr Kim’s absence, and the language used in the media to describe the launch, suggests that this test was intended to verify the missile system worked as it should, rather than to show off new technology.
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Still, it is the first time that the Hwasong-12, a nuclear-capable missile of significant size, has been launched since North Korea held talks with the US under the former administration, led by President Donald Trump, leading to a slowdown in missile activity.
The last time the Hwasong-12 was tested was in 2017 when Pyongyang launched it six times including sending it twice over the Japanese island of Hokkaido, which triggered alarms for residents there.
In 2018 after Mr Kim met Mr Trump, North Korea announced a moratorium on testing nuclear weapons and its longest-range intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). But by the following year (2019), as relations soured, Mr Kim said they were no longer bound by the declaration.
On Sunday, January 30, 2022, South Korean President, Moon Jae-in said that with the latest launch, North Korea has “come close to destroying the moratorium declaration”.
There are multiple reasons for the ramp-up in North Korea’s missile activity this year, which was first flagged by Kim in his New Year speech.
Analysts say the tests reflect Kim’s desire to pressure the US back into long-stalled nuclear talks, present a show of strength to regional and global powers, and could be borne out of a practical need to test out new engineering and military command systems.
The timing is also significant with Beijing’s Winter Olympics kicking off later this week, and South Korea’s presidential election in March 2022.
“This is consistent with their past behaviour to try and intimidate South Korea and the incoming president.”
Dr Daniel Pinkston – an international relations professor from Troy University, living in South Korea.
There’s also been a surge in tests as the North Korean economy struggles under US-led sanctions, pandemic difficulties and decades of mismanagement.
Earlier this month, the US imposed more sanctions on North Korea.
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