North Korea says it tested hypersonic missile

Pyongyang made the claim in state media on Thursday, a day after the launch, its first weapons test since October.

Hypersonic weapons are some of the latest technology being developed by the US, China and Russia. Hypersonic missiles fly at least five times the speed of sound and closer to Earth than ballistic missiles, making them difficult to detect on radar.

Japanese and South Korean officials on Wednesday described the missile as a suspected ballistic missile. However, photos released Thursday by North Korean state media match a model displayed by the country at an event in October, which weapons experts described as one of North Korea’s hypersonic models of a liquid-fueled maneuver re-entry vehicle. recognized as. Wednesday’s launch will be North Korea’s second test of hypersonic technology after one in September.

Last year, China conducted a hypersonic missile test, raising alarm in Washington over rapid advances in Chinese weapons technology that could be used to target US ports or installations in the Indo-Pacific region. China’s technology enables a rocket carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle into space orbit before hovering toward its target, making it harder to stop.

Weapons experts said North Korea’s hypersonic technology is in the early stages of development, and will require some time before any practical deployment. Experts said that to deploy a reliable hypersonic glide vehicle, such as the one deployed by China, would require long-range trials, at least in a few years.

“The message from North Korea is that they aim to use weapons such as hypersonic missiles to disable missile defense in the US and South Korea,” said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Iwa University in Seoul.

North Korean state media said on Thursday that the missile was a “hypersonic gliding warhead”, an apparent reference to the use of high-speed gliders to carry the warhead past the missile defense. The warhead of the weapon detached from its rocket booster and went about 75 miles before that. It hit a target about 430 miles away, according to state media.

According to state media, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not attend the launch.

During a year-end speech, Mr Kim vowed to pursue high-tech weapons to counter military instability on the Korean peninsula. North Korea has not tested nuclear bombs or long-range intercontinental ballistic missiles since 2017, but in recent years the country has developed a range of more maneuverable weapons. Analysts in North Korea say the weapons are aimed at overcoming the missile defenses of South Korea and the United States.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a call with Japanese Secretary of State Yoshimasa Hayashi on Wednesday condemned North Korea’s missile launch and discussed cooperation to achieve complete denuclearization and lasting peace on the Korean peninsula, the State Department said.

Soon after the launch on Wednesday, South Korea’s National Security Council expressed concern over the missile test and called for talks to resume, according to the presidential office. South Korea’s unification ministry urged North Korea to resume talks and respond to its efforts to establish peace.

Washington and Seoul have called on North Korea to surrender its nuclear weapons and return to talks that have stalled since a series of summits between Mr Kim and then US President Donald Trump. Talks failed in 2019, and North Korea rejected calls to revive talks.

President Biden’s administration has continued to say it is ready to talk “anytime, anywhere” with North Korea. ,

Hours after the missile launch, South Korean President Moon Jae-in, whose term expires in May, visited the South Korean east coast city of Goseong, where he took part in a ceremony for a new rail line, to be built. He called it a “step for peace and regionalism”. Balance” on the Korean Peninsula.

“North Korea’s military capabilities will continue to advance, while there is no indication that they are ready to return to talks,” said Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in South Korea.