The Rodong-1 (spelled Nodong-1 or simply Nodong in South Korea) is a single stage, mobile liquid propellant medium range ballistic missile developed by North Korea. Developed in the mid-1980s, it is a scaled up adaptation of the Soviet SS-1, more commonly known by its NATO reporting name "Scud".

Overview

Rodong (nodong in South Korea) is the Korean word for "labor". It is used in North Korea to denote the working class in Communist ideology, for example in name of the ruling Workers Party (Rodongdang).

It is believed North Korea obtained Scud-B designs from Egypt and possibly Scud-C designs from China, and reverse-engineered them into a larger, longer-distance weapon dubbed the Rodong. U.S. reconnaissance satellites first detected this type in May 1990.

The precise capabilities and specifications of the missile are unknown; even the fact of its production and deployment are controversial. It is a larger variant of the Scud-B, scaled up so its cross-sectional area is about double that of the Scud, with a diameter of 1.25 m and a length of 15.6 m. Its aerodynamic design is stable, so does not require modern guidance systems. It can only be fueled when vertical, so cannot be fueled before transport as is normal for modern missiles. Its range is estimated as 900 km with a 1000 kg payload. It has an estimated CEP of one or two kilometers.