[Exclusive] 'Monster Missile' Hyunmoo-5, First Test Launch on the 3rd

February South-North Missile Tensions Rise
Hyunmoo-5 to Undergo 3 More Test Launches This Year
North Korea Continues Solid Fuel Engine Tests

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] Our military is set to conduct the first test launch of the 'Hyunmoo-5 missile,' known as the 'monster missile.'

According to government officials on the 1st, the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) plans to conduct the first test launch of the Hyunmoo-5 missile at the Anheung Test Site on the 3rd. There will be four test launches of the Hyunmoo-5 missile this year; the first test launch will be conducted under the supervision of ADD, while the remaining three will take place with the participation of the Army Test and Evaluation Group.

The video of the 'Monster Missile' Hyunmoo-5, first revealed at the 74th Armed Forces Day ceremony on October 1st last year.

The first test launch will focus on reducing the range and testing engine thrust and other factors. The Hyunmoo-5 missile is known to have propulsion power (75t) equivalent to one liquid engine of the Korean launch vehicle Nuri. The Hyunmoo-5 is designed to carry an 8-ton warhead, ascend to the exosphere (altitude 500?1000 km), and then descend at speeds exceeding Mach 10. It can destroy command and strategic targets located in tunnels deeper than 100 meters underground. It is evaluated as an intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) class or higher, with a range of approximately 3000 to 5500 km. It can respond to provocations from neighboring powers such as North Korea and China.

North Korea is also accelerating its missile development. Recently, there have been indications of tests on solid-fuel rocket engines. The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies analyzed satellite images from the commercial satellite service 'Planet Labs' and reported through the Voice of America (VOA) that changes were detected at the engine test site in Magunpo, Hamju County, South Hamgyong Province.

Photos taken at 10:53 a.m. on the 29th showed no significant changes, but images from 9:03 a.m. on the 30th revealed a scorched field next to the test stand within the engine test site. The burn marks started at the end of the engine test stand and extended in a long trumpet shape, measuring about 120 meters in length, suggesting that a powerful flame was emitted at the site, VOA reported.

If North Korea conducted a solid-fuel engine test this time, it would be a retest about a month and a half after the high-power solid-fuel motor ground firing test at the Dongchang-ri West Sea Satellite Launch Site in Cholsan County, North Pyongan Province, on November 15 last year. Analysts suggest that North Korea has embarked on developing a 'new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)' as announced. Having already possessed existing ICBMs such as Hwasong-15 and Hwasong-17, North Korea's declaration to develop another ICBM system indicates its intention to develop a new solid-fuel-based ICBM.

Solid-fuel weapons have the advantage over liquid-fuel ones in that fuel can be stored in the missile at all times, eliminating the need for fueling before launch. This significantly reduces launch time and enhances mobility.

Considering past precedents where North Korea revealed or test-launched missiles approximately 2 to 4 months after conducting ground firing tests of newly developed engines, there is a possibility that the new solid-fuel engine ICBM could be unveiled and test-launched as early as this month. This is why our military is closely monitoring activities around the Magunpo engine test site. A military official said regarding the possibility of additional solid-fuel engine tests by North Korea, "South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies are closely cooperating to meticulously monitor related developments and are carefully observing movements of personnel and vehicles."