(Bloomberg) -- North Korea may test launch this month a ballistic missile designed to deliver a warhead to the US mainland, a top South Korean security official said, in a show of force by Kim Jong Un as he is set to hold a major policy-setting meeting.

“There is a possibility of North Korea launching an intercontinental ballistic missile in December,” Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo told reporters Thursday when he arrived in the US for a meeting of a bilateral nuclear strategy group.

Kim Tae-hyo did not offer details on any intelligence assessment. But North Korea has launched most of its ICBMs in recent years from a site near Pyongyang’s main international airport that is under close watch by US spy satellites.

By testing an ICBM, the North Korean leader could demonstrate to his top cadres and his people that the country’s nuclear arsenal is making great strides in being able to attack the US, reinforcing the message in propaganda that its expansion is essential to prevent an invasion from American forces.

Read: North Korea’s New ICBM Raises Ability To Strike US With Nuke 

The last time North Korea tested an ICBM was in July when it fired off its new, solid-fuel Hwasong-18, which had the longest flight time for any of the state’s ballistic missiles. The missile appeared designed to carry a multiple nuclear weapons payload, which increases the chances at least one bomb could slip past interceptors and make its way to a target.

Solid-fuel missiles have the propellants baked into rockets, allowing them to be rolled out and fired in a manner of minutes, giving the US less time to prepare for interception. The challenge becomes even greater if the missile carries several warheads rather than one.

Still, it’s unclear whether the warheads aboard North Korea’s ICBMs could evade interception and survive reentry into the atmosphere to reach their targets.

Kim’s ability to deliver a credible nuclear strike on the US raises the stakes for what must be offered to entice him to wind down his arsenal. But Kim has refused offers from the Biden administration to return to long-stalled disarmament discussions.

 

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