North Korea shows off new long-range missile

A military vehicle carries what is believed to be a Taepodong-class missile Intermediary Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM). During the ceremony marking the centenary of the birth of the communist state's founding father Kim Il Sung, it revealed an intercontinental ballistic missile that measures 18m in length and 2m in diameter. -- PHOTO: AFP

As widely expected, North Korea unveiled an advanced long-range ballistic missile on Sunday, confirming that it has continued developing its warhead delivery capabilities at the expense of its starving people.

During the ceremony marking the centenary of the birth of the communist state's founding father Kim Il Sung, it revealed an intercontinental ballistic missile that measures 18m in length and 2m in diameter.

Experts believe that the new missile appears to have a similar or longer range than the Taepodong-2 missile - presumed to have a range of more than 6,700km, long enough to hit parts of Alaska, but still short of reaching the United States (US) mainland.

'It is not a surprise that the North has the capability to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles. In 2009, it fired off a long-range rocket, which can be called an ICBM, although it failed to put what it calls a satellite into orbit,' said Mr Jeung Young Tae, senior researcher at Korea Institute for National Unification.