Hwasong-12
The Hwasong-12 is a mobile intermediate-range ballistic missile developed by North Korea. The Hwasong-12 was first revealed to the international community in a military parade on 14 April 2017 celebrating the Day of the Sun which is the birthday anniversary of North Korea's founding President, Kim Il-sung.
Design
Based on photos of the launch on 14 May 2017, the Hwasong-12 appears to be a single stage design, using a single main engine along with four vernier engines. The arrangement appears similar to the "high-thrust" engine test conducted in March 2017. Alternatively, it could be based on the engine used in the older Hwasong-10 with the addition of two more verniers.Initial estimates suggest the Hwasong-12 would have a maximum range of between and 6000 km .
In the April 2017 military parade the Hwasong-12 was displayed on the Hwasong-10 mobile launcher, and it may be intended to replace the similarly performing Hwasong-10 which has been shown unreliable during its test program.
List of Hwasong-12 tests
Attempt | Date | Location | Pre-launch announcement / detection | Outcome | Additional Notes |
1 | 4 April 2017 06:12 a.m. Pyongyang Standard Time | Sinpo | - | Failed | Previously misreported as a SCUD variant. Missile traveled a range of 60 kilometers with an apogee of 189 kilometers and reportedly "pinwheeled" before flight was terminated. |
2 | 15 April 2017 05:51 a.m. Pyongyang Standard Time | Sinpo | - | Failed | Previously misreported as a SCUD variant. Reported to have exploded within 4, 5 seconds after launch. |
3 | 28 April 2017 05:33 a.m. Pyongyang Standard Time | Pukchang | - | Failed | Missile reportedly flew 40 kilometers before exploding. |
4 | 14 May 2017 04:58 a.m. Pyongyang Standard Time | Kusong | - | Success | Missile was fired on a lofted trajectory with apogee of 2,111.5 km, landing 787 km away in the Sea of Japan. |
5 | 29 August 2017 05:28 a.m. Pyongyang Standard Time | Sunan | - | Success | Missile was fired on a normal trajectory with apogee of 550 km, flew over Hokkaido in total distance of 2700 km, landed in the Pacific Ocean 1180 km east of the northern Japanese island. |
6 | 15 September 2017 06:27 a.m. Pyongyang Standard Time | Sunan | - | Success | Missile was fired on a normal trajectory with apogee of 770 km, flew over Hokkaido in total distance of 3700 km, landed in the Pacific Ocean 2200 km east of Cape Erimo, Hokkaido. Longest trajectory by a North Korean missile as of launch date. |