Pukkuksong-2 also known as KN-15 by intelligence outside of North Korea, is a medium-range or intermediate-range ballistic missileunder development by North Korea, which unlike the nation's earlier designs, uses solid fuel. Described as 'nuclear-capable', its first test flight was on 12 February 2017. The state-run KCNA news agency said that leader Kim Jong-un supervised the test, which was described as a success. Analysts have described the new missile as 'more stable, more efficient, and harder to detect' than North Korea's previous liquid-fuelled designs. In contrast to older, liquid-fueled rockets that take hours to prepare for launch and are easier to detect and counteract by other countries, the Pukkuksong-2 is a solid-fuel rocket that can be launched in minutes. Deployed in northern North Korea near border with China in missile bases where Hwasong-7 is deployed.
Design
The Pukkuksong-2 is an enlarged, two stage development of the Pukkuksong-1, a submarine-launched ballistic missile. The missile is canister launched from its enclosed transport container. It uses a 'cold-launching' system, which starts using compressed gas, followed by the engine igniting in mid-flight. The container is a smooth cylinder inside, without rails, and on launch a series of slipper blocks could be seen to fall away from the missile. These act as bearings while the missile is projected through the close-fitting tube, a system first seen with the US Peacekeeper. A series of grid fins are deployed at the base of the missile to provide aerodynamic stability during flight. The transporter erector launcher is a new design, conceptually similar to the Russian 2P19 TEL of the R-17M Elbrus SS-1 Scud-B; fully tracked and claimed to be of indigenous Korean manufacture, rather than previous Chinese wheeled launchers, derivatives of the ubiquitous MAZ-543 design. On its first test flight it flew on a deliberately inefficient trajectory. Its operational range is variously estimated at between and.
