North Korea’s latest missiles may be copies of Russian designs able to evade US-made defence systems, officials say

A newly tested North Korean short-range ballistic missile appears to be a copy of an advanced Russian design that could greatly improve Pyongyang’s ability to evade US missile defence systems, according to US officials.

Three of the missiles were test-fired on May 4 and May 9 from northwest North Korea. They flew on a low trajectory, never exiting the Earth’s atmosphere before plunging into the Sea of Japan.

Pictures showed the missile closely resembles a short-range Russian missile, called the Iskander, right down to the solid fuel engine and four fins on its tail for making in-flight course adjustments. The similarities are so strong that some experts dubbed Pyongyang’s version “the Kimskander” after the tests.

A low-flying missile with a satellite guidance system, as the North Korean missile appears to have, is potentially far harder for US anti-missile systems deployed in South Korea to intercept, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal assessments.

The weapon also could be hard to destroy on the ground because it relies on a mobile launcher that carries two missiles and can be moved. It is likely more accurate than North Korea’s ageing arsenal of short-range Scud missiles.

The tests appeared aimed at increasing pressure on the White House to resume negotiations that stalled after a Trump-Kim summit in February failed to make any progress on getting Kim to abandon his nuclear arsenal and weapons production facilities.