Tag: KN-08

Design Changes Make North Korea’s KN-08 ICBM More Reliable

| December 26, 2015

The North Koreans continue to tinker with their road mobile ICBM which is their primary strategic deterrent against the United States:

Design changes to a North Korean missile capable of reaching the U.S. mainland should increase its reliability but are likely to delay deployment for at least five years, according to a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

The KN-08 intercontinental ballistic missile, which was publicly displayed during an October military parade, has been shortened and simplified, according to 38 North, a website run by Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies that monitors North Korean activities. A blunt warhead that is more likely to survive re-entry replaces a narrow, pointed design, and the missile’s three stages have been reduced to two.

“The underlying technology is mostly the same — a blend of North Korean engineering and Cold War leftovers from the Soviet Union — but the structural design has been substantially improved,” the report said Tuesday. “There is reason to suspect that the new structural technology was illicitly obtained from Ukrainian sources.”

The new KN-08 would have a range similar to its predecessor — about 5,600 miles, enough to reach the U.S. West Coast — with an estimated success rate of 50 percent to 60 percent, the report said. The previous model’s rate was estimated at 30 percent to 40 percent.

“The new design is simpler and more reliable, and thus a more credible threat,” 38 North said.  [Stars & Stripes]

You can read the rest at the link.

Are North Korea’s KN-08 ICBMs A Mock Up?

| October 19, 2015

That is the question a lot of people have been wondering for years since it was first unveiled and analysts at NK News share their opinion about the KN-08 after its recent reappearance at a North Korean military parade:

The KN-08 mobile missile system on display at the October 10, 2015, parade in North Korea is significantly different from the KN-08 missiles displayed at all previous parades. The changes visible in the KN-08 design include a shortened missile, either a new nosecone or a shroud, and indicate a possible basis on the Russian R-29R missile. It is apparent that North Korea is continually researching and upgrading its ballistic missile designs.

Assuming these differences are real and not simply models or deceptive false alterations, the KN-08, appears significantly shorter, indicating the elimination or redesign of later stages. Additionally, it has a radically different nosecone that could be indicative of guidance systems based on Russian technology. In the best case scenario, it is either a cosmetic cover for the purposes of the parade or a shroud for protecting the reentry vehicle (RV, colloquially referred to as the warhead) during ascent. The data cabling along the side has also changed, though this is a much more minor data point than the previous two.

The differences between early and current KN-08s are so great that, if both sets have been functional missiles, they should and will likely receive a different common designation from the previous KN-08 (such as KN-08 Mod 2 for example). Alternatively, since the KN-08 is not fully operational, it may be that the previous versions end up waved off as prototypes and KN-08 becomes the standard for the final product.  [NK News]

I highly recommend reading the whole thing at the link, but I don’t think it is a mock up and is instead a prototype that the Kim regime is continuing to develop.