Kim Jong-un receives a very special Christmas gift.

Kim Jong-un
Kim Jong-un
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Published 2023-12-25
The DPRK launched a Hwasong (HS)-18 solid-propellant, road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on December 18. This was the third launch of the system and the third success, thus continuing Pyongyang’s remarkable track record of successful solid-propellant missile launches. The DPRK's characterization of the event as the “launching drill of an ICBM unit” indicates that the DPRK regards the HS-18 ICBM system as operationally deployed.

Compared to the liquid ICBMs, the solid-propellant HS-18 will be easier and safer to operate in the field; it will need fewer support vehicles, and so should be easier to conceal (and thus somewhat safer from attack); and it has the potential to be more reliable
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