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Minnie Chan

North Korea is poised to intensify its rocket-testing programme – including the first test of a submarine-launched missile – following the successful trial of a rocket that can hit the US mainland, according to military analysts.
On Wednesday Pyongyang tested its new Hwasong-15 an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM).
Analysts now expect further tests, including an upgraded, submarine-based version of its Pukguksong missiles.
Song Zhongping, a retired instructor from the People’s Liberation Army’s strategic missile force, said the North had the capacity to step up tests of its land and sea-based missiles in the Pacific.
Pyongyang last tested its land-based Pukguksong-2 in February and May this year and it is expected to have been working to develop its submarine-launched Pukguksong-3, which has a range of over 2,000 kilometres.
China, US step up military talks to prepare for worst on North Korea
“Pyongyang will also have frequent tests on its solid-fuel Pukguksong series to prove the country is going to have a real nuclear combat capability,” Song, who is a now Phoenix TV military commentator, said.
“North Korea will possibly launch more tests of the Hwasong-12 and Hwasong-15 ICBMs, with the latter being armed with nuclear warheads to conduct full-scale nuclear tests in the Pacific Ocean.”

Macau-based miliary analyst Antony Wong Dong said that the new solid propellant Pukguksong-3 will pose a direct threat to China as the missile has been designed to be launched from protective canisters, which is more difficult to locate and destroy in advance.


“I think the latest missile test developments on [the Korean Peninsula] will push China to deploy its HQ-19 anti-ballistic missile interceptors in Liaoning province,” Wong said, adding that Beijing has completed radar systems along its borders with the North.
Meet the North Korean firm which reinvents itself to beat sanctions
The Pukguksong-3 featured in the massive military parade on April 15 to commemorate the 105th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung, the North’s founding leader and grandfather of the current leader Kim Jong-un.
The Kim family has seen the development of its nuclear programme as the surest means of sustaining its regime.
Both the Pukguksong-2 and 3 are believed to have a range that would allow it to target Japan and US military bases in the region, but not the US mainland.
Missile experts said the submarine and land-based technologies overlap, and developments in either can benefit both.
What photos reveal about North Korea’s new ballistic missile

Beijing-based military expert Zhou Chenming said mounting tension on the Korean Peninsula had put Beijing on high alert.
“Beijing still believes the tensions were stimulated by intensive joint drills between the US, South Korea and Japan,” he said.




“China will also increase cooperation with the US, sharing nuclear and missile intelligence about the North, as well as providing more analysis from a Chinese perspective to prevent misjudgments caused by culture differences.”
Both Song and Wong agreed that the latest Hwasong series test indicated that the North had been able to develop its own advanced ICBMs based on missile technology acquired from Russia and Ukraine.
Song said photos and other information disclosed by Pyongyang showed the Hwasong-15 missile was bigger than the Hwasong-14, but it needed 50 minutes’ launch preparation to reach its target height, far longer than its predecessor.
Donald Trump dismisses Chinese diplomacy with North Korea as having ‘no impact on Little Rocket Man’
“There is no doubt that the North has met a certain level in missile technology, but that information shows the latest launch is still a high risk test,” Song said.
However, Song said China will not change its long-standing policy of nuclear non-proliferation on the Korean Peninsula by recognising the North as a “nuclear nation”.
“Once Beijing allows North Korea to be a nuclear nation, then many neighbouring countries like Japan will follow it to seek legitimacy from owning nuclear weapons. It will cause a great threat to China,” Song added.


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What’s next after North Korea’s successful launch of rocket that can strike US?

Analysts predict first submarine-based launch and expect China to strengthen defence as a result

FILE PHOTO - The scene of the intermediate-range ballistic missile Pukguksong-2's launch test in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) May 22, 2017. KCNA/via REUTERS/File photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. SOUTH KOREA OUT.

A North Korean government photo shows Kim Jong-un at a military research institute that has been working on the Pukguksong-3 missile. Photo AP

China and US step up military talks to prepare for the worst on North Korea

Generals from two sides wrap up meetings in Washington that were planned in August but held hours after Pyongyang’s latest missile test

Senior Colonel Wu Qian, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense (MND) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), answers reporters' questions at the 7th CISM Military World Games Press Conference in Wuhan on Nov.24, 2017. Photo: Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China

China's State Councillor Yang Jiechi (R) speaks with General Joseph Dunford (L), chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, at the Zhongnanhai Leadership Compound in Beijing on August 17, 2017. Dunford is visiting China this week after holding meetings with military officials in South Korea, where he reiterated Washington's readiness to use military means to defend its allies. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / WANG ZHAO

A man walks past a television screen showing North Korea’s latest missile launch, at a railway station in Seoul on Wednesday. Photo: AFP

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Analysts predict first submarine-based launch and expect China to strengthen defence as a result


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What’s next after North Korea’s successful launch of rocket that can strike US?

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Analysts predict first submarine-based launch and expect China to strengthen defence as a result

Analysts predict first submarine-based launch and expect China to strengthen defence as a result