North Korea announced the successful test of a solid-fuel ballistic missile

North Korea has announced the successful test of its latest solid-fuel long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-18. Yonhap reported this on Tuesday, December 19, citing North Korea’s state news agency KCNA.

It was noted that during Monday’s test, the rocket flew 1002.3 kilometers in 4415 seconds (73.6 minutes) at a maximum height of 6518.2 km and fell into the Sea of ​​Japan at an area specified before launch.

North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un expressed great satisfaction at the test and said it was a practical demonstration of the strength of the North Korean military’s strike capability and the means to deter nuclear war.

The KCNA report said Kim called the ICBM launch a demonstration of North Korea’s readiness to “resolutely counter” hostile forces, adding that the launch showed which option he would choose “when the Washington made the wrong decision against the DPRK.”

It was Pyongyang’s fifth ICBM test this year and third launch of the solid-fueled Hwasong-18, which can fly about 15,000 km at a maximum altitude of 6,000 km, allowing it to hit any target in the continental U.S. United States.

A feature of solid propellant missiles is less time for launch preparation and more difficult pre-launch detection.

Let’s remember that on the morning of December 18, North Korea launched a long-range intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) towards the Sea of ​​Japan. This happened hours after Pyongyang test-fired a short-range ICBM in the same direction on the night of December 17.

Earlier, North Korea reported the successful launch of a ballistic missile carrying a spy satellite.