As both foe countries battle it out to develop arms with an increasingly destructive force, North Korea’s recent testing of nuclear weapons, with at least one capable of carrying a” super- large warhead,” has raised new concern in neighboring South Korea.
According to many media reports citing North Korean military options, North Korea launched at least three missiles carrying fake warheads in late June. According to the reports, Pyongyang promised “offensive and mind-boggling” reactions to new US military training with South Korea and Japan.  ,
According to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA ), North Korea had the ability to successfully test a multiple-waffen system that could release three independently targeted warheads and a decoy.
But, 38 North says that North Korean military film suggests that one of the rockets good malfunctioned at an altitude of 100 meters, raising uncertainties about North Korea’s statements and capabilities.
Despite the likely setback, the tests show North Korea’s ongoing commitment to developing sophisticated missile technology, including multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles ( MIRV ) missiles, 38 North said in an analysis of the tests.
38 North points out that some of the tests involved a new payload section and what appeared to be the initial stage of a Hwasong- 16 solid-propeller intermediate-range ballistic missile ( IRBM ) launch. According to the 38 North research, this was the first time North Korea had mentioned several warhead advancement since January 2021.
The tests, according to 38 North, may eventually lead to the use of more sophisticated and possibly weakening military technology in the field. Because North Korea is able to increase the number of scalable weapons for a given range of weapons and missiles, this could further aggravate regional security relationships.
Despite North Korea’s new MIRV test, Pyongyang is still far from mastering the systems, Choe Sang- Hun claims in a June 26, 2024 New York Times article. The writer adds that condition media altered images of one of the tests while claiming there was “deception and understatement” in KCNA’s news about the assessments.
He points out that South Korean authorities flagged one of the tests involving an reported hypersonic missile as a loss, with the weapon apparently exploding over North Korean waters after traveling 240 meters.
Choe points out that Pyongyang has not yet demonstrated that it can design a weapon that could endure reentry into the environment and present a credible threat to the US, let alone launch advanced MIRV-tipped missiles, despite the fact that they have long been on North Korea’s wish list of weapons.
Despite North Korea’s visible MIRV check loss, it does get a prospect helping hand from Russia, its longstanding Cold War supporter. Russia has changed since the start of the Ukraine war to potentially affecting international efforts to control Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programs by becoming a reluctant executioner of sanctions against North Korea.
Last month, the two monarchies made a strategic alliance. Although the relationship appears to avoid missile and nuclear weapons technologies markets, the possibility of such transfers may be discounted.
Russia has used North Korean nuclear weapons against Ukraine, according to Asia Times ‘ report from last month, and Pyongyang may have exported more than 5 million artillery shell to Russia to help with the country’s weapons deficit on the front lines. In trade, North Korea could get from Moscow terribly needed energy supplies, food aid and many- desired missile technology.
In contrast to conventional missiles that only have one warhead, MIRVs were developed in the 1960s to allow a missile to carry several nuclear weapons to various targets. Although the early MIRVs were not intended to penetrate missile defenses, they are much more difficult to intercept than conventional missiles.
In November 2023, the Asia Times reported that MIRVs can be incredibly unstable for strategic security because they favor first strikes because they can hit multiple targets at once.
MIRVs permit states to launch multiple warheads at a single target, with the exception of a single warhead the size that causes more harm. Additionally, MIRVs make it easier to defeat missile defense systems.
Additionally, MIRVs increase the likelihood that small and medium-sized nuclear arsenals can be easily targeted and destroyed in a first strike, leading to a significant capacity loss with each destroyed launch platform.
MIRVs compel nuclear-armed nations to increase and disperse their arsenals to ensure a second-strike capability. Additionally, MIRVs require the manufacturing of additional nuclear warheads for missile deployment.
North Korea had previously claimed to have tested for hypersonic weapons, with the exception of MIRVs.
North Korea tested its Hwasong- 16B hypersonic IRBM in April 2024, according to an article in Asia Times that made a thinly veiled allusion to the US, South Korea, and Japan. North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un referred to the missile as a crucial component of the nation’s nuclear deterrent against its “enemies.”
The missile’s 600-kilometer flight was confirmed by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, but North Korea was accused of exaggerating its capabilities. Nevertheless, they acknowledged that North Korea’s missile capabilities were improving.
North Korea’s nuclear arsenal is highly dependent on missiles because it lacks sophisticated aircraft or submarines to launch them. South Korean officials claim Pyongyang is far from succeeding despite developing solid-fuel missiles that are easier to conceal, move, and launch and having been testing hypersonic missile technology.
North Korea has a history of nuclear weapons, with Pyongyang continuing to develop its missile and nuclear programs despite having one of the world’s poorest and most heavily sanctioned economies.
North Korea can use its nuclear weapons to obstruct the logic of South Korea, Japan, and the US by threatening a direct attack on the US, which would turn off the latter three when they engage in joint military action.
The Kim dynasty is still in power thanks to North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, which is only made up by Supreme Leader Kim. That raises the possibility of nuclear retaliation in the event that the Kim regime is threatened or there is nuclear instability after it collapses.