North Korea appears dead set on launching this year its first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of delivering a nuclear warhead to the U.S. mainland using the invaluable experience it gained from the development of its Hwasong-10 (Musudan) mobile intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) it launched multiple times in 2016.

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South Korea media reports the north is preparing to test-launch a new, upgraded ICBM prototype. That test launch "could be imminent," claims South Korean media without speculating on a date.

The new ICBM will likely be a road-mobile missile similar to the Musudan IRBM. Korean intelligence sources told media they believe the new ICBM consists of two stages, with each stage less than 15 meters long.

In the past, North Korea has paraded dummies of a road-mobile missile believed to be an ICBM given the designation KN-08 by western observers. This missile is also believed to have an upgraded version, the KN-14.

South Korean intelligence agencies a few weeks ago said they discovered missile parts believed to be the lower-half of an ICBM being transported on trucks for assembly at another site. This discovery has ignited fears of an imminent test launch within the first six months of the year.

Intelligence sources told media the missile they discovered is different from a conventional Musudan missile in its length and shape. The Republic of Korea Army is monitoring the reports and striving to confirm their veracity.

North Korea began 2017 with its leader, Kim Jong-un, saying his country was making final preparations to conduct its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) this year. North Korea has never designed and flown an ICBM.

The announcement means North Korea will soon have the means to attack American allies in Asia and the American homeland next with nuclear ICBMs.

From 2006 to 2016, North Korea conducted five nuclear tests and more than 20 ballistic missile tests in 2016 alone.

North Korea has conducted seven tests involving eight Musudans from April to Oct. 15, 2016. None of these tests were considered completely successful by the west. One test, a launch of two Musudans on June 22 from Wonsan, was considered a partial success.

North Korea, however, praised the twin launches as a complete success. The latest test on Oct. 15 from Kusong on the west coast was a complete failure that saw a Musudan destroyed at launch.

The U.N. Security Council strongly condemned for the October launch, calling it a "grave violation" of resolutions banning North Korea from using ballistic missile technology.

First revealed in 2010, Hwasong-10 is a liquid fueled IRBM capable of carrying a 1,000 kg high explosive warhead and, later on, a nuclear warhead if the North ever perfects this technology.

North Korea claims the missile can reach out to 4,000 km but western analysts believe this to be false based on the trajectories of the missiles used in its tests.

TagsNorth Korea, intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM, Hwasong-10, Musudan, intermediate-range ballistic missile, KN-08, KN-14