A day prior to its third nuclear test, Pyongyang tested the engine of a newly developed long-range missile to check its performance and increase its maximum reach, according to Korean military sources.
The inter-continental ballistic missile called 'KN-08' is believed to have a range of over 5-thousand kilometers and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead, the sources said.
The KN-08 was first revealed at the military parade commemorating the founder of the country Kim Il-sung's 100th birthday and was loaded on a mobile launch pad.
The Chinese-made launch pad is hard to detect by radar, which makes it even more of a threat to the international community.
Korean intelligence officials estimate Pyongyang currently holds hundreds of scud missiles that can reach South Korea in less than five minutes, as well as ballistic missiles capable of hitting Guam from mobile launch pads.
Meanwhile in response, the South Korean military is speeding up the process of developing its missile defense technology called KAMD and is allocating up to 2.8 billion dollars in development.
The KAMD includes a Kill Chain system, which is capable of detecting nuclear and missile facilities, tracing missiles, and even blowing them up in mid-air.
The core of the Kill Chain system is to locate moving targets, as well as undetectable mobile launch pads.
But in reality, Seoul still lacks the capacity to fully develop the system and depends on U.S. missile defense systems.
To counter North Korea's inter-continental missiles, Washington will likely spend over 93 billion dollars in missile defense technology, while Tokyo is expected to spend over 9 billion dollars.
Kim Hyun-bin Arirang News

Reporter : hyunbin@arirang.co.kr