North Korea’s New ICBM: Why the “Monster Missile†MattersFrom the author: First and foremost, it matters—along with the panoply of other missiles displayed in the parade—because it shows the progress North Korea continues to make on strategic weapons despite the effects of sanctions and Kim’s continuing restraint in ICBM flight testing.by Markus V. Garlauskas Follow @Mister_G_2 on TwitterL
October 19, 2020 
The large ICBM featured as the grand finale of North Korea’s military parade to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Korean Workers Party has been a source of controversy and speculation from missile experts and amateurs alike from the moment it appeared on state-run Korea Central Television. Quickly and colorfully dubbed the “monster missile†based on a comment from the Open Nuclear Network’s Melissa Hanham—in part because North Korea has yet to announce its official name—it probably has received more scrutiny and press reporting than any previous weapon first seen in a Pyongyang parade. Media coverage has ranged from a retired general dismissing it as largely for show–even as possibly a mockup—to a breathless article crediting it with an infeasibly large “2000 megaton†warhead. (Given that the largest nuclear test in history, the massive Tsar Bomba, was 50 megatons, a 2000 megaton yield is more in the realm of science fiction weaponry than a plausible North Korean nuclear warhead.)
While many experienced analysts acknowledge that it may not be just a mockup, they have questioned the utility of such a gargantuan missile, with Harry Kazianis characterizing it as an impractical “Spruce Goose.†Skeptics are quick to point out this enormous liquid-fueled missile’s shortcomings for either a surprise “first strike†or surviving for “second strike†purposes, including the difficulty in concealing it, its limited mobility, and presumably long fueling time. Markus Schiller colorfully noted that driving it once fueled would be risky at best: “No sane person would drive this ticking bomb through the North Korean countryside.†Other authors, like Dan Depetris, assess that this new model does not really add much to North Korea’s already-diverse ballistic missile arsenal, with the Hwasong-15 ICBM already believed by many experts to be capable of reaching the entire United States based on its November 2017 test, and many more proven shorter-ranged nuclear-capable missiles available to credibly hold U.S. bases and allies at risk.
So, then, if it does not seem to have much additional utility to North Korea for traditional purposes, why does it matter?
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https://nationalinterest.org/blog/korea-watch/north-korea%E2%80%99s-new-icbm-why-%E2%80%9Cmonster-missile%E2%80%9D-matters-170981
