N. Korea says it tested new solid-fuel long-range missile

This photo provided Friday by the North Korean government, shows what it says is the test-launch of Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile Thursday. Pic/AP

North Korea said Friday it flight-tested a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time, a possible breakthrough in its efforts to acquire a more powerful, harder-to-detect weapon targeting the continental United States.

North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency issued the report a day after the country's neighbours detected a launch of a long-range missile from near Pyongyang, which extended a run of weapons displays involving more than 100 missiles fired into the sea since the start of 2022.

Thursday's test did not appear to demonstrate the weapon's full capacity, and it remains unclear how far N. Korea has come in mastering technologies to ensure the warhead would withstand atmospheric reentry and accurately strike targets. Still, analysts said the test was likely a meaningful advance in N Korea's goal to build a nuclear arsenal that could directly threaten the United States.

Also read: North Korea fires missile that may have been new type of weapon

KCNA said the launch was supervised on site by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who described the missile - named Hwasong-18 - as the most powerful weapon of his nuclear forces that would enhance counterattack abilities in the face of external threats created by the military activities of the US and its regional allies.

North Korea has justified its weapons demonstrations as a response to the expanding military exercises between the United States and South Korea, which the North condemns as invasion rehearsals while using them as a pretext to push further its own weapons development.

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