The weapon in question is an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), a super-fast, long-range missile designed to carry nuclear bombs and detonate them over a specific target. ICBMs, which are launched from land, are closely related to intercontinental-range submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBM), which are also nuclear capable.
These nuclear-tipped missiles are incredibly difficult to make, and only seven countries are known to have managed the feat: the United States, Russia, China, India, France, the United Kingdom, and Israel. Despite sanctions from international bodies, isolated North Korea also hopes to make a missile powerful enough to launch a nuclear attack.
Last year, North Korea successfully tested two ICBMs, Hwasong-14 and Hwasong-15, the latter of which is believed to be capable of reaching the US mainland. However, the country has yet to prove…
