New North Korean ballistic missiles

[TheKutKu]

7700km apogee... Isn't a ballistic missile apogee roughly equal to its range?

Range is higher than apogee, basic estimate is that its post-boost speed is near-orbital and it should have a global range with the specific Bus+Reentry Vehicle used for this and if it was flown on a very low trajectory. It's safe to assume it has a decent payload to a 14,000 km range.

 

[SK2]

Exits could be made multiple, camouflaged and fake ones constructed in large numbers. And since this missile is solid-fuel, it's launch time is quite rapid. It's not perfect, of course, but it guarantee North Korean ICBM's much better survivability, than silo-based missiles would have in the same situation.

True, but if the NKs are willing to move a bunch of large machinery for pretending to construct fake ones then it's quite worthy

 

[Scott Kenny]

True, but if the NKs are willing to move a bunch of large machinery for pretending to construct fake ones then it's quite worthy

They have whole towns that are Potemkin Villages... making fake exits is definitely within their previous behavior.

That said, I think these would take enough work to make a believable fake that it's just as much effort to simply make real alternate launch sites.

 

[Ainen]

Blind unfinished exits(to be opened in emergency) with literally no outside signs are a basic feature in building such underground road systems.