AP Explains: North Korea missile test is huge step forward

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea's latest ballistic missile test may be nearly as big a deal as its propaganda machine claims.

The test gives a boost to leader Kim Jong Un as he seeks to show his people that he's standing up to America and South Korea.

[...] it also lifts scientists in the authoritarian nation who are working to build an arsenal of missiles with nuclear warheads that can reach the U.S. mainland.

Here's a closer look at what happened in Sunday's missile launch, which came only a few days after the inauguration of a new South Korean president, and why it's viewed as a worrying development by North Korea's neighbors and Washington.

[...] experts have long believed that manufacturing a compact warhead for a long-range missile capable of striking the United States is one of the last remaining technologies North Korea has yet to master.

Some experts say the missile's claimed ability to carry heavy warheads would allow North Korea to deploy larger bombs or multiple warheads potentially capable of striking different targets.

Despite North Korea's claim that Sunday's test simulated a re-entry situation, South Korean defense officials say the North probably has yet to master the technology.

If (electrical) circuits break and a trigger device fails to detonate nuclear fuel, you can imagine that only some twisted metal will fall on Alaska or Hawaii, even if North Korea fires missiles at them, said Kim Dong-yub, an analyst at Seoul's Institute for Far Eastern Studies.