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| 2023-08-30 16:44:34
NK missile-technical advancement
N. Korea's advancement of ballistic missiles may be result of 'external help' from other nations
By Yi Wonju
SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- North Korea is likely to have steadfastly advanced its ballistic missile program, particularly in its rocket engine technology, due to "external help" from other countries, an Israeli expert said Wednesday.
Tal Inbar, a senior research fellow at the U.S-based Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance who has followed North Korea's space and missile programs for years, made the remarks during a press briefing hosted by NK Pro in Seoul.
In July, North Korea fired a Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), marking the second test-firing of the new solid-propellant missile this year and underscoring its push for technological progress.
North Korea's successful test-firing of new ICBMs has rekindled questions on how the isolated nation, despite U.N. Security Council sanctions, could make such technical progress. Some experts raised speculation that Russians may be linked to the North's ballistic missile program.
"I think the most important issue in ballistic missiles and the intercontinental ballistic missile in North Korea was the sudden appearance of the rocket engine several years ago, and it looks almost like a clone of a Ukrainian engine and a Chinese copy of the Ukrainian engine," he said.
"So since the appearance of this rocket engine, there was a boost of development in long-range ballistic missiles in North Korea, and they almost never fail, which is also something extraordinary," he added.
He attributed this lack of failure to "a proven engine coming from another source but not from Iran."
"You can only speculate that perhaps Iran has in its possession several other types of North Korean missiles and missile technology, like the Hwasong-12, for example, which is a much longer-range missile, but Iran never showed those missiles if they are in its arsenal," he said. "So an external help is a possibility."
Inbar stressed a boosted early warning radar system or interceptor system akin to Israel's Iron Dome could be the key to countering escalating military provocations from North Korea,
Seoul has sought to bolster anti-drone capabilities after five North Korean drones intruded across the inter-Korean border late last year, with one of them having penetrated a no-fly zone close to Seoul's presidential office.
"Definitely there is a need for more of those early warning radars first to detect, and you have to remember that sometimes -- and I believe those drones were kind of obsolete and very small -- so sometimes those systems are much harder to intercept because of the small radar cross section, and relatively low altitude and low speed, so it's not so easy to intercept," he said.
"Something like Iron Dome, or a different system but with the same purpose in mind, could be the answer," he said, suggesting that a laser defense system could be further considered in the long term.
Israel's Iron Dome is designed to detect, identify and destroy incoming threats, such as short-range missiles, artillery shells and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In 2021, South Korea decided to develop its own interceptor system like the Iron Dome to defend the country against artillery threats from North Korea.
He also said North Korea's weapons potential and military capabilities have been largely underestimated by the international community.
"So I can tell you that for more than 20 something years that I'm watching daily, the Iranian capabilities, and in all aspects of missiles and weapons and so on, North Korea never lied about its capability," he said.
On the North's latest move in building two new types of UAVs resembling the U.S. Global Hawk and the U.S. Reaper, he pointed out they may not have the "best" engines but could pose a "real challenge" or threat to the region.
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