North Korea says it tested "most powerful" missile to date

North Korea says it tested a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile - its "most powerful" missile to date.
State media hailed Thursday's launch, which led to a brief evacuation order in Japan, a "miraculous success".

Solid-fuel missiles can be fired more quickly than liquid-fuel ones, making them harder to intercept. But analysts say they are not without downsides.

South Korea maintains that the North will need more time to develop a fully operational solid-fuel ICBM.

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 North Korea conducted the first test launch of its solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), Hwasong-18, the country’s state-run KCNA news agency reported.

According to the agency, the trials "had no adverse effect on the security of the neighboring countries "

Two stages of the missile splashed down ten and 335 km away from North Korea’s eastern coast. The agency said that the new ICBM had been designed to become the backbone of North Korea’s strategic forces and an important component in its deterrence system.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the launch, the report says.

In his words, the development of the new ICBM "will extensively reform the strategic deterrence components of the DPRK, radically promote the effectiveness of its nuclear counterattack posture and bring about a change in the practicality of its offensive military strategy."

The Hwasong-18 ICBM was tested early on April 13. The test triggered Japan’s J-Alert satellite warning system, which issued an emergency evacuation warning for residents of Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido. The warning was lifted some time later, because the missile’s fragments fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan.

It was North Korea’s 12th missile launch this year. In nine of them, ballistic missiles were tested.