How an intercontinental ballistic missile works

North Korea has claimed it is testing an intercontinental ballistic missile that is capable of reaching Alaska.
Authorities in the US and South Korea verified the missile had intercontinental range but provided few other details.
So how does an intercontinental ballistic missile work? And how it can reach long-range targets?
FACTFILE:
  • Missiles are self-guided munitions that travel through the air or outer space to their targets. 
  • A ballistic missile travels along a suborbital trajectory. 
  • An intercontinental ballistic missile can travel a substantial distance around the Earth to its target.
  • As opposed to bombs, torpedoes and rockets, missiles are both powered and guided. 
  • If unguided, it would be termed a rocket. A bomb is neither powered nor guided. A guided bomb is called a “smart” bomb. 
  • If powered and traveling underwater, it is termed a torpedo.
  • Better known by the abbreviation ICBMs, intercontinental missiles can do exactly what their name implies: deliver a weapon, like a nuclear warhead or nerve agents, to another continent.
(Image: REUTERS)
  • Unlike other military missiles, ICBMs are feared for their long range because they can fly more than 5,500 km (3,420 miles).
  • Most ICBMs don’t enter Earth’s orbit. Instead, they travel in high, arclike paths.
  • Some ICBMs burn solid fuel, while others use liquid fuel or a combination of both, but the goal is to generate enough lift and thrust to deliver a bomb to a target as quickly as possible.
  • To reach such speeds and strike with such precision, ICBMs typically have three or four separate rocket motors.
(Image: AFP)
  • During flight, ICBMs use several tricks to stay on course. Flight computers can monitor the rocket’s trajectory and some ICBMs also use cameras to look at constellations of stars while flying high above the clouds.
  • At each stage of flight, the missile moves faster and faster.
  • All the while, Earth’s gravity pulls the weapon back toward the ground on a “ballistic” trajectory.
  • By the time the last stage has burned out, all that remains is for the payload - a nuclear warhead, chemical weapon, or biological weapon - to deploy.

Kellyanne Conway: Trump's comments were 'strong and obvious'

White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway was asked to expand on President Trump’s comments about North Korea on Monday.
She described the remarks as “strong and obvious”.
“I think the President’s comments were very strong and obvious, and you all covered them live,” Conway told reporters in New Jersey.
She referred other questions about the remarks - during which Trump vowed to bring “fire and fury” upon North Korea - to other members of the cabinet.
Kellyanne Conway
Kellyanne Conway spoke to reporters in New Jersey (Image: REUTERS)

South Korean president calls for 'urgent' overhaul of armed services

South Korean president Moon Jae-in has called for a complete and thorough overhaul of the country’s armed services.
He has highlighted an “urgent” need to enhance the country’s defence capabilities against North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile technologies, Yonhap News reports.
“I believe we might need a complete defence reform at the level of a rebirth instead of making some improvements or modifications,” the president said on Wednesday.
South Korean President Moon Jae-in wants dialogue with North Korea
President Moon Jae-in spoke at a meeting with the country's top military commanders (Image: YNA)
He added: “I believe another task now facing us is the urgent task of securing defence capabilities to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile provocations.”
Moon’s remarks came amid escalating tension caused by the communist state’s recent missile launches and a fresh threat, filed earlier in the day by the North Korean military, to strike near US-controlled Guam with a barrage of missiles.

US shares slip as Korea tensions escalate

US stock futures slipped on Wednesday.
Investors sought havens such as US Treasuries, gold and the yen as tensions on the Korean peninsula escalated.
European bourses also looked set to open lower across the board, with Eurostoxx 50 futures already down 0.7 percent in early trade.
A spokesman for the Korean People’s Army said in a statement that it was “carefully examining” plans for a missile attack on Guam, a US Pacific territory, which has a large American military base.
The comments came just hours after Donald Trump told North Korea that any threat to the United States would be met with “fire and fury”, rattling markets globally.
Stock markets in Asia have also fallen.
(Image: Ikon Images)

'North Korea always talks about war, war, war'

In Dandong, a Chinese trading hub across the border from North Korea, residents said they were unperturbed by the escalating rhetoric.
“North Korea always talks about war, war, war, but it never happens,” said a restaurant owner who asked to be identified only by her surname, Yang.
“We now live in peaceful times. But if war does break out it will be us ordinary people that suffer,” she said.
Kim Jong-Un (Image: AFP)
Another resident, Zhang Shubin, 63, said North Korea knew that it faced economic collapse if China went significantly further with its sanctions.
“These so-called sanctions are nothing,” he said. “If President Xi (Jinping) really wanted to, then China can make Kim Jong Un behave.”
KEY EVENT

VIDEO: Gov of Guam warns "America will be defended"

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GOVERNOR OF GUAM WARNS NORTH KOREA AFTER MISSILE THREAT
North Korea has been warned any attack on the island of Guam is an attack on the United States.
Governor Eddie Calvo said he had spoken to the White House and had been reassured America “will be defended” in a dramatic special address.
In a video published online he said: “I’ve reached out to the White House this morning.
“An attack or threat on Guam, is a threat or an attack on the United States.
“They have said that America will be defended.”
Read more about his address here.

Asian stock markets fall amid North Korea tensions

(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Stock markets in Asia have fallen amid tensions in North Korean.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 0.7 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.4 percent.
South Korean shares fell 0.9 percent, while the won sank around 0.7 percent to 1,136.4 to the dollar. Both slid to more than one-month lows.
Financial markets have tended to quickly shake off North Korea’s threats in the past.
But fears have increased this year amid signs that it is making progress in its ballistic missile program and on Trump’s growing frustration with Pyongyang.
“The sell-off caused by geopolitical tensions on North Korea will likely be short-lived as long as both Trump and Kim Jong Un keep making feints against each other and neither takes military action,” said Tomoaki Fujii, head of the investment research division at Akatsuki Securities Inc in Tokyo.
“The market’s dent only lasted for a week in April when tension rose between them after North Korea launched a missile. Both countries know that there is no turning back once they push the button,” Fujii said.

'Don't take us down into the mud like North Korea'

Former U.S. diplomat Douglas Paal, now with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace think tank in Washington, said Trump should not get into a war of words with North Korea.
“It strikes me as an amateurish reflection of a belief that we should give as we get rhetorically. That might be satisfying at one level, but it takes us down into the mud that we should let Pyongyang enjoy alone,” said Paal, who served as a White House official under previous Republican administrations.
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NORTH KOREA VOWS TO DESTROY US IF THREATENED IN NEW VIDEO

'Horrendous leadership could lead us to WWII' Trump in 2013

As always seems to be the case, a lot of people are bringing up an old Donald Trump tweet which has relevance for his current actions or words.
This time it’s one from 2013 when he was sounding off about the Obama administration’s foreign policy.
“Be prepared, there is a small chance that our horrendous leadership could unknowingly lead us into World War III.”
It would be ironic if the present situation wasn’t so genuinely terrifying.
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JAPAN AIRS PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT AMID NORTH KOREAN THREATS

Pictures: US Air Force mobilising

(Image: REUTERS)
(Image: AFP)
(Image: REUTERS)
Some more images here of the US Air Force which has been mobilising in the past 24 hours.
They show the two Air Force B-1B Lancers which flew from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, on a 10-hour mission to the Korean Peninsula.

'Deeply troubling' - Congresswoman for Guam

The Congresswoman for the U.S. Pacific territory of Guam on Wednesday said she was confident U.S. forces could protect it from the “deeply troubling” North Korean nuclear threat.
Madeleine Z. Bordallo called on President Donald Trump to show “steady leadership” and work with the international community to de-escalate tensions and stop North Korea advancing its weapons programme.
“Guam remains safe, and I am confident in the ability of U.S. defences to protect our island and allies in the region,” Bordallo said in a statement.

'The world must keep calm and contain Kim Jong-Un'

An editorial in The Economist this weekend addressed the North Korean threat.
All the options for dealing with the North are bad. Although America should not recognise it as a legitimate nuclear power, it must base its policy on the reality that it is already an illegitimate one.
Mr Kim may gamble that his nukes give him the freedom to behave more provocatively, perhaps sponsoring terrorism in the South. He may also sell weapons to other cruel regimes or terrorist groups.
The world must do what it can to thwart such plots, though some will doubtless succeed.
It is worth recalling that America has been here before.
When Stalin and Mao were building their first atom bombs, some in the West urged pre-emptive strikes to stop them.
Happily, cooler heads prevailed. Since then, the logic of deterrence has ensured that these terrible weapons have never been used.
Some day, perhaps by coup or popular uprising, North Koreans will be rid of their repulsive ruler, and the peninsula will reunite as a democracy, like Germany.
Until then, the world must keep calm and contain Mr Kim.
KEY EVENT

'An attack or threat on Guam is a threat or an attack on the United States'

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GOVERNOR OF GUAM WARNS NORTH KOREA AFTER MISSILE THREAT
Eddie Calvo, the Governor of Guam, has just released a public address on YouTube.
He confirmed that the threat level to Guam has not been altered.
But he went on to say:
I’ve reached out to the White House this morning.
An attack or threat on Guam, is a threat or an attack on the United States.
They have said that America will be defended.
I would like to remind the national media, that Guam is American soil.
And we have 200,000 Americans in Guam and the Marianas, we are not just a military installation.
And with that said, I want to make sure that we are prepared for any eventuality.
I will be convening the Unified Coordination Group, which includes myself and the Rear admiral, to discuss the state of readiness of our military and our local first responders .

'Remain calm, defences are in place'

As we reported earlier, the alert level has not been raised in Guam.
But given the frightening language being used on both sides, local officials have felt the need to reassure people.
“As of this morning, we have not changed our stance in confidence that the U.S. Department of Defence is monitoring this situation very closely and is maintaining a condition of readiness, daily,” said George Charfauros, Homeland Security adviser.
“We will continue to keep the public updated on any changes or requests for action.
“For now, we advise the community to remain calm, remember that there are defences in place for threats such as North Korea and to continue to remain prepared for all hazards.”
KEY EVENT

US Air Force bombers 'ready to fight tonight'

(Image: REUTERS)
The US Air Force released a statement earlier describing how to B-1B bombers flew a practice mission over the Korean Peninsula yesterday.
After taking off from Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, the B-1s assigned to the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, flew to Japanese airspace, where they were joined by Japanese F-2 fighter jets.
The B-1s then flew over the Korean Peninsula where they were joined by Republic of Korea Air Force KF-16 fighter jets.
The B-1s then performed a pass over the Pilsung Range before leaving South Korean airspace and returning to Guam.
The Air Force said: “Throughout the approximately 10-hour mission, the aircrews practiced intercept and formation training, enabling them to enhance their combined capabilities and tactical skills, while also strengthening the long standing military-to-military relationships in the Indo-Asia-Pacific region.”
A 37th pilot added:
How we train is how we fight and the more we interface with our allies, the better prepared we are to fight tonight.
The B-1 is a long-range bomber that is well-suited for the maritime domain and can meet the unique challenges of the Pacific.

'I hope that our mother country does what's right for us'

Others in Guam aren’t quite so calm.
Rudy Matanane, Mayor of Yigo, illustrated the fear that is felt.
Talking about the threat from Kim Jong Un’s regime he said: “It’s kind of scary because we don’t know what this guy is capable of.
“But, uh, I hope that our mother country does what’s right for us.
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TRUMP WARNS NORTH KOREA OF 'CONSEQUENCES FOR THEIR BAD BEHAVIOUR'
“Make a conscious decision that we don’t get hit first.
“Because this guy… I don’t think he cares you know, he’s killed his family… but us he doesn’t even know.”

Guam people 'going about the usual ways despite threat'

How is this situation being felt in Guam?
The island has a population of more than 162,000.
Journalist Haidee Eugenio with the Pacific Daily News reports that locals are “going about their usual ways despite North Korea’s threat”.
The Governor Eddie Baza Calvo says there is “no change in alert level.”

US and Britain already have plans to take out North Korean regime

The Mirror recently revealed how Britain and the US already have ‘Plans A, B and C’ for how they would take out the entire North Korean leadership.
Elite forces are already being trained for a scenario in which they are ordered to eliminate Kim Jong-Un and his military advisers, former Navy SEAL Brandon Webb said.
The 43-year-old spent 13 years in the US Armed Forces and later took charge of the SEAL’s Sniper School which trained Chris Kyle whose exploits the film American Sniper were based on.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un watches a military drill (Image: REUTERS)
“I think it would be very easy for the UK or the US to, if they wanted, swiftly take out the entire North Korean leadership,” said Mr Webb.
“Very quickly, with a special operations unit.
“The intelligence capability and the special ops capability we have today is incredible.
“Most people have no idea really how effective the US and the UK are at conducting these missions.”

Trumps threats are 'empty rhetoric'

Commentator Fareed Zakaria perhaps best summed up the response of Trump critics in the US tonight.
Speaking on CNN he said: “The kind of rhetoric Donald Trump used, is the kind of rhetoric North Korea uses, not the United States.
“We are measured. We are careful. We match our words with deeds.
“We do not come out with these outlandish claims which frankly will not be met.
“We will not, let me confidently say ‘respond to with fire and fury the likes of which the world has never seen before’.
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MOMENT NORTH KOREA'S ICBM IS LAUNCHED BEFORE LANDING IN JAPANESE WATERS
“I don’t know if Donald Trump remembers - but we dropped two atomic bombs in Japan, we went through a bombing campaign in Indo-China the likes of which nobody had seen, even in World War Two.
“None of that is going to happen.
“This was empty rhetoric… and it’s dangerous.”

Trump 'playing dangerous game'

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'THEY WILL BE MET WITH FIRE AND FURY'
Donald Trump is playing a dangerous game with North Korea, an expert has written in the Washington Post.
Henry Farrell, an associate professor of political science and international affairs at George Washington University, says past presidents have deliberately avoided threats to nuclear powers.
He writes:
Fears of all-out nuclear war dominated the historical relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
Both sides faced the temptation of brinkmanship — pushing to the very edge of open hostility to extract concessions from the other.
But brinkmanship is a dangerous game.
If you miscalculate your threats or misunderstand the other side’s motivations, you might leave the other side with no choice but to respond aggressively.
This might lead to a war of mutually assured destruction that neither side wants but neither side can avoid.

Trump to blame for North Korea crisis

Critics are holding Donald Trump accountable for the escalating North Korea crisis.
His angry tweets and “reckless” remarks have left the US in an uncomfortable position, they say.

Can North Korea fire a nuke or not?

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MOMENT NORTH KOREA'S ICBM IS LAUNCHED BEFORE LANDING IN JAPANESE WATERS
The Washington Post reported on Tuesday that North Korea had successfully produced a miniaturised nuclear warhead that can fit inside its missiles, according to a confidential U.S. intelligence assessment.
However, U.S. intelligence officials told Reuters that, while North Korea has accelerated its efforts to design an ICBM, a miniaturised nuclear warhead, and a nosecone robust enough to survive re-entry through the Earth’s atmosphere, there is no reliable evidence that it has mastered all three, much less tested and combined them into a weapon capable of hitting targets in the United States.
North Korea’s ICBM tests last month suggested it was making technical progress, Japan’s annual Defence White Paper warned.
KEY EVENT

'Alert status at Guam unchanged'

On Monday, two U.S. B-1 bombers flew from Guam over the Korean Peninsula as a part of its “continuous bomber presence,” a U.S. official said, in a sign of the strategic importance Guam holds.
The alert status at Andersen Airforce Base on Guam had not been changed as of Wednesday morning, according to the duty officer at the base’s public affairs office.

Obama aide: Clear threat of nuclear attack

Dan Pfeiffer, a former adviser to President Obama, said Trump’s inflammatory words earlier about North Korea “can only be interpreted as a nuclear attack on North Korea if Kim Jong-Un taunts him”.
Many are criticising Trump’s choice of words and say he has effectively back the US into a corner.
Republican rival John McCain was among them.
“I don’t know what he’s saying and I’ve long ago given up trying to interpret what he says,” McCain told a local radio station.
“That kind of rhetoric, I’m not sure how it helps.”

UN sanctions sparked latest tensions

The UN Security Council votes for new North Korea sanctions (Image: Rex Features)
Although tensions between the US and North Korea go back decades, the rhetoric has reached new levels in the past few days.
It began when the UN Security Council voted unanimously (15-0) to impose new sanctions on North Korea over its continued missile tests.
The ban on North Korean exports could slash export revenues by a third - costing the country $1billion a year.
North Korea has made no secret of plans to develop a nuclear-tipped missile able to strike the United States and has ignored international calls to halt its nuclear and missile programmes.
It says its intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) are a legitimate means of defence against US hostility.
It has long accused the United States and South Korea of escalating tensions by conducting military drills.
KEY EVENT

North Korea threatens to wipe out 'US mainland'

Some more detail is emerging on North Korea’s threat of an attack on Guam.
There have been two statements from different sources in the past few hours.
Reuters is quoting a second military spokesman as having accused the United States of devising a “preventive war”.
Any plans to execute this would be met with an “all-out war wiping out all the strongholds of enemies, including the U.S. mainland”.
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US IN 'SHOW OF FORCE' FLYING BOMBERS OVER KOREAN PENINSULA

'Donald Trump not the bad guy' - Piers Morgan

Commentator Piers Morgan argues now is time for Americans to unite.
Given Trump’s divisive behaviour that’s not exactly going to be easy.
But Morgan insists the President is “not the bad guy here”.

'6,000 troops in Guam'

Fox News reports that the US has an estimated 6,000 troops in Guam.
The island has been a US territory since 1898.

US Naval base Guam said to be target

Guam (Image: Rex Features)
American military power in Guam (Image: Rex Features)
Hours later a spokesman for the Korean People’s Army said the strike plan will be “put into practice in a multi-current and consecutive way any moment” once Kim Jong Un makes a decision.
“The KPA Strategic Force is now carefully examining the operational plan for making an enveloping fire at the areas around Guam with medium-to-long-range strategic ballistic rocket Hwasong-12 in order to contain the U.S. major military bases on Guam including the Anderson Air Force Base,” the spokesman said.
KCNA, Pyongyang’s state-run news agency, also carried a statement from a different military official which said North Korea may carry out a pre-emptive operation if the US shows signs of provocation.
Air craft carriers, fighter jets, submarines and thousands of troops are based in Guam (Image: Rex Features)
Guam is a 30-mile island is around 3,000km from North Korea and is the most important American military base in the region.
It is home to dozens of air craft carriers, fighter jets, bombers, submarines and destroyers.

North Korea 'examining missile attack' after Trump threat

North Korea is “carefully examining” a plan to launch a missile strike on Guam - the US Naval Base in the Pacific.
It comes after President Donald Trump threatened the regime with “fire and fury like the world has never seen”.
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'THEY WILL BE MET WITH FIRE AND FURY'
Arms folded angrily, President Trump said: “North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States.
“They will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.
“He has been very threatening beyond a normal statement.
“And as I said, they will be met with fire, fury and frankly power the likes of which this world has never seen before. Thank you.”