The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a full clip of the latest intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test on March 24. This clip has gone viral because it looks like the trailer for a Hollywood action movie or music video with extremely beautiful footage, meticulously invested.
In the clip, Supreme Leader of North Korea Kim Jong-Un took the spotlight with a leather jacket, dark glasses, and stylish watch. In addition to the participation of supporting actors who are high-ranking officers.
M/V has now garnered tens of millions of views on social media platforms, especially hot in Korea and Japan.
The Times and AP described the video as “like a Hollywood movie”. Many netizens in Europe also compared the video to the US blockbuster Top Gun, starring actor Tom Cruise.
The video is well crafted, the footage seamlessly shifts between Mr. Kim and the officers watching their watches, before the Supreme Leader removes his glasses and the nod to signal deploys the rocket into the launch position. The timer starts counting down from 9, before firing.
The rocket left the launch pad and began to rise into the sky, Kim Jong-Un and his subordinates celebrated. The next part is a scene of how Korean soldiers in military uniforms are very cool.
The Hwasong-17 rocket was first launched in October 2020 and was called a “monster missile” by analysts. During the March 24 test, the missile reached an altitude of more than 6,248 km. Analysts say that if launched at the right orbit, the missile can reach a range of 13,000 km, enough to reach the US.
Military analysts say that the Hwasong-17 is significantly larger than the Hwasong-15, the North Korean missile test launched in 2017. It has a diameter of about 2.5 meters, with an estimated mass of 80-110 tons. It was carried by an 11-axle ammunition carrier. The Hwasong-17 is the world’s largest mobile land-based ICBM.
North Korea has not conducted a nuclear or ICBM test since Kim Jong-un ordered the suspension in 2018.
The sanctions against North Korea summited to the United Nations by the US are unlikely to be approved by Russia and China, when North Korea voted in favor of Russia’s special campaign in Ukraine.
South Korea also determined on March 25 that the North Korean missile had just fired reached a maximum altitude of 6,200 km and a flight range of 1,080 km. While Japanese officials said it reached a maximum altitude of 6,000 km, flying a distance of 1,100 km, and fell into the sea after a 71 minutes journey.
These parameters are all superior to the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) in 2017. The Hwasong-15 missile only reaches an altitude of 4,500 km and a range of 998 km.
The US is concerned that its missile shield is outdated before the North Korean ICBM. Air Force General Glen VanHerck said the US needs to deploy a new defensive shield by 2028 to keep up with North Korea’s ballistic missile program.
