If the KN-35 missile is quasi-ballistic, then it will likely be a low-altitude missile—meaning that South Korea’s limited arsenal of American-produced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile defense systems and Patriot missile defense batteries will be ill-equipped to stop it.
North Korea is intent on not being left behind by their U.S.-supported neighbors in South Korea. Unwilling to be threatened or outmatched by Seoul’s advanced military, Pyongyang continues advancing their military capabilities with increasingly advanced systems that can counter—and even outmatch—their neighbors to the south.
In April 2022, North Korea introduced the KN-35, a close-range ballistic missile (CRBM) that marks a notable addition to its expansive arsenal. North Korea’s KN-35 is often likened to the Korea Tactical Surface-to-Surface Missile (KTSSM) of South Korea. In fact, it is so similar that some Western analysts have simply taken to calling the North Korean CRBM “North Korea’s KTSSM.”
The KN-35 underscores North Korea’s relentless push to modernize its short-range capabilities, enhance the precision of their missiles, and counter regional missile defense systems.
The KN-35 Missile’s Possible Specs
Although details about the KN-35 are necessarily few—and suspect, given North Korea’s history of exaggeration and questionable quality control—the missile is known to be a solid-fueled, CRBM designed for tactical battlefield use, with a range likely under 186 miles—aligning with the category’s focus on short distances.
That solid-fuel propulsion ensures that the KN-35 will have rapid launch times and reduced vulnerability when compared to liquid-fueled systems—which require fueling before firing, slowing down launch times and giving enemies a chance to counterattack. This feature also enhances the KN-35’s survivability against potential preemptive strikes, a key consideration given South Korea’s “Kill Chain” strategy aimed at neutralizing North Korean missile threats early in any war.
Because the KN-35 is so similar to South Korea’s KTSSM system, and Pyongyang has kept the details of this newer system under wraps, analysts have taken to inference when seeking information on this new North Korean CRBM. For example, KN-35’s similarity to South Korea’s KTSSM suggests that KN-35 is a compact, mobile system optimized for rapid deployment and precision strikes.
Open-source analysis suggests that KN-35 has a payload capacity of between 551 and 1,102 pounds. It is likely, too, that this system is capable of delivering conventional high-explosive warheads or, potentially, chemical payloads—no surprise given Pyongyang’s sophisticated biological and chemical weapons programs. There are even fears that the KN-35 may, in fact, be nuclear-capable.
Like many other North Korean missile systems, it is believed that the KN-35 is launched via mobile transporter-erector-launcher (TEL), possibly wheeled or tracked, allowing it to evade detection by blending into North Korea’s rugged terrain.
As for its guidance system, that feature remains a state secret of North Korea. Here again, however, inferences can be made. It is believed to incorporate modern navigation technologies, potentially including satellite-based systems, such as either relying on Russia’s GLONASS or even China’s BeiDou navigation satellite constellation to achieve a circular error probable (CEP) sufficient for hitting fortified targets with minimal missiles.
Since April 2022, North Korea is believed to have conducted at least five test launches of the KN-35 system, with the most recent occurring just last month. These tests suggest a focus on refining accuracy and operational readiness.
The missile’s design may draw on North Korea’s experience with earlier systems, like the KN-23and KN-24, which introduced quasi-ballistic trajectories to complicate missile defense interception. And if these reports are indeed accurate, then it indicates a significant complicating factor in any attempt of Western militaries to reliably hold North Korea hostage during a conflict.
Further, it should be noted that reports have abounded that both North Korea and the Islamic Republic of Iran are developing a coterie of quasi-ballistic missile systems.
North Korea and Iran Are Working Together on Missile Technology
Not only do Iran and North Korea routinely share military development plans with each other, but these states are connected by powerful great states, such as Russia and China, meaning that the quasi-ballistic capabilities of the KN-35 are most likely correct. All four of the aforementioned powers are seeking to stymie the ability of America and her allies to project power against these countries.
In other words, if the KN-35 is quasi-ballistic, then it will likely be a low-altitude missile, meaning that South Korea’s limited arsenal of American-produced Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-ballistic missile defense systems and Patriot missile defense batteries will be ill-equipped to stop it.
The United States, South Korea, and the rest of their global allies are faced with the daunting prospect that their decades of strategic assumptions and pretensions of technological supremacy are fast eroding.
Whatever horrors may be occurring within the domestic life of ordinary North Koreans, the fact remains that North Korea’s military is an increasingly advanced, large, and potent force that can deter possible attacks from the South Koreans and the Americans, while threatening them on a level that even a decade ago Pyongyang would not have been able to.
If trends persist, and North Korea and its allies continue producing systems like this, America’s ability to project power against these regimes will be stunted. And, if that occurs, the U.S. will have lost a key point of leverage that will be difficult to replace—giving more maneuvering room to these regimes to undermine and destroy America’s competitive geopolitical advantages.
About the Author: Brandon J. Weichert
Brandon J. Weichert, a Senior National Security Editor at The National Interest as well as a contributor at Popular Mechanics, who consults regularly with various government institutions and private organizations on geopolitical issues. Weichert’s writings have appeared in multiple publications, including the Washington Times, National Review, The American Spectator, MSN, the Asia Times, and countless others. His books include Winning Space: How America Remains a Superpower, Biohacked: China’s Race to Control Life, and The Shadow War: Iran’s Quest for Supremacy. His newest book, A Disaster of Our Own Making: How the West Lost Ukraine is available for purchase wherever books are sold. He can be followed via Twitter @WeTheBrandon.
Image: Shutterstock / GAS-photo.
