North Korea's Banned Weapons: What's New

North Korea has fired a new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Seoul and Tokyo said Thursday, as part of an unprecedented recent spree of weapons tests in defiance of UN sanctions.

The firing made good on a threat by Pyongyang to resume long-range tests after a pause was agreed during a bout of negotiations with former US president Donald Trump that collapsed in 2019.

North Korea has embarked on a string of launches this year, from cruise missiles to hypersonic, but Thursday's ICBM is Pyongyang's most powerful launch since 2017.

The latest test is the fourth ICBM launch in five years despite North Korea being subject to a ban under UN Security Council sanctions.

What new capacity has leader Kim Jong Un's regime developed? AFP takes a look at North Korea's long-range ballistic missile technology:

Hwasong-17

ICBMs have a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres (3,400 miles) and are primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery.

Nuclear-armed North Korea has long coveted an ICBM that can carry multiple warheads and, the US and South Korea say, has been testing the Hwasong-17, a giant ICBM, since October 2020.

Last week it test-fired what analysts said was likely a Hwasong-17 but the launch ended in failure, exploding mid-air in the skies above the capital.

Thursday's launch was likely an attempt to "make up for that failure", said Go Myong-hyun, senior researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies.

The missile was first unveiled on a 22-wheeled vehicle at a military parade two years ago and dubbed a "monster" by analysts, who said it was a new iteration of predecessor Hwasong-15, with technical improvements.

The US and South Korea believe two launches in February and March this year likely involved components of the Hwasong-17.

North Korea claimed it was testing components for a reconnaissance satellite.

The Hwasong-17 is believed to have the capacity to carry multiple warheads, making it harder to intercept.

North Korea has not demonstrated this capability before.

Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15

Pyongyang has also fired an ICBM called the Hwasong-14, in 2017, claiming it reached an altitude of 2,802 kilometres and flew 933 kilometres during a successful test.

The launch date of July 4 coincided with US Independence Day, which Pyongyang called a gift for the "American bastards".

It tested the missile again at a lofted trajectory three weeks later.

North Korea then continued its ICBM testing with the more powerful Hwasong-15, a missile capable of reaching the US mainland.

Pyongyang claimed that a November 2017 test of the Hwasong-15 reached an altitude of around 4,475 kilometres and travelled 950 kilometres.

Thursday's missile flew at an altitude of over 6,000 km -- much higher than the Hwasong-15, so likely "a new ICBM", Japanese authorities said.

Hwasong-12

Intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), which are rocket-propelled for the first stage of flight, have a range of about 3,000-5,500 kilometres (1,800-3,400 miles).

North Korea's main IRBM is the Hwasong-12, a missile powerful enough to hit the US territory of Guam in the Pacific. It was last test-fired on January 30 and first successfully fired in May 2017.

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