KN-08 (Hwasong-13)
Owned By
| Operator: | North Korea |
| Status: | In Service |
| Number: | ~12 |
| Cost: | Unknown |
| Acquired: | Believed operational as of April 2015 |
| General Specs: | |
| Country of origin: | North Korea |
| Manufacturer: | |
| Introduced: | First appeared during a military parade on April 2012. In October 2015, a modified version with a blunter nose appeared in a parade. No known flight tests reported as of June 2016. |
| Class: | Intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) – potentially Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) |
| Range: | 3,106.9 – 3,728.2 miles (5,000 – 6,000 km) |
| Warhead: | Nuclear, chemical, biological, or high-explosive warhead (payload: 1,102.3 – 2,204.6 lbs (500-1,000 kg) |
| Speed: | Unknown |
| Weight: | Unknown |
| Length: | 57.4 – 65 ft (17.5 – 19.8 m) |
| Diameter: | 6.6 ft (2 m) |
| Propellant: | Multi-stage using liquid fuel |
| Guidance System: | Unknown |
| Accuracy: | Unknown |
| Launch Platform: | 16 x wheel transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) |
| Notes: | The initial KN-08s that appeared in 2012 with prominent conical nosecones are commonly believed to be just mock-ups. The later version seen in 2015 is still under development with the engines tested in May 2014 and reentry vehicle nosecone tested in March 2016. |
Sources:
- Kelsey Davenport, “North Korea Tests Missile for Submarine,” Arms Control Association, June 2015.
- “IHS Jane’s examines North Korean missile bases,” IHS Jane’s Intelligence Review, 2015.
- Missile Threat Project, “KN-08,” George C. Marshall and Claremont Institutes, November 30, 2012.
- Nuclear Threat Initiative, “North Korea – Missile,” James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, June 2016.
- Michael Arthur, “KN-08 / Hwasong-13,” Missile Defense Advocacy Alliance, June 2014.
- Anthony H. Cordesman and Ashley Hess, The Evolving Military Balance in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, Volume III: Missile, DPRK and ROK Nuclear Forces, and External Nuclear Forces, Center for Strategic & International Studies (Washington: Rowman & Littlefield, June 2013), page 19.
- Richard D. Fisher Jr., “North Korea unveils new version of KN-08 ICBM,” IHS Jane’s Defence Weekly, October 13, 2015.
- Jon Harper, “NORAD commander: North Korean KN-08 missile operational,” Stars and Stripes, April 7, 2015.
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