North Korea boasts of a successful test of a hypersonic intermediate-range missile
North Korea said on Tuesday its latest weapons test was a new hypersonic-intermediate-range missile designed to strike remote areas in the Pacific, as leader Kim Jong-un vowed to advance the buildup of anti-nuclear weapons to fight rivals.
The North Korean state media report came a day after the South Korean military said it had detected North Korea firing a missile that flew 1,100 kilometers before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The launch, which took place a few weeks before Donald Trump returned as US president, came out of a difficult year in weapons testing.
North Korea has demonstrated a number of weapons programs in the past year that could target its neighbors and the United States, including solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, and there are concerns that its military might be further advanced by the transfer of technology from Russia, as the two countries go to war in Ukraine.
North Korea in recent years has tested intermediate-range ballistic missiles that, when fully equipped, could reach the US Pacific military base of Guam. In recent months, North Korea has been testing to combine these missiles with so-called hypersonic warheads to improve its survivability.
North Korea since 2021 has been testing various hypersonic weapons designed to fly at five times the speed of sound. The speed and maneuverability of such weapons are intended to counter regional missile defense systems. However, it is not clear that these missiles are always flying at the speed the North wants.
The North’s media said Kim directed Monday’s launch, and that the missile traveled 1,500 kilometers, where it reached two different peaks of 99.8 kilometers and 42.5 kilometers and reached 12 times the speed of sound, before hitting the target sea. .
Lee Sung Joon, spokesman for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the South Korean military believes that North Korea is exaggerating the capabilities of the system, saying that the missile has a short range and no higher value.
Lee said the test could be a follow-up to another test of an intermediate-range hypersonic missile last April and said it would be difficult to use these systems in a small area like the Korean Peninsula. He said the South Korean and American military are still analyzing the missile.
The launch comes after a visit from Blinken
Kim described the missile as an important achievement in his aims to strengthen the North’s nuclear deterrence by building weapons “that no one can answer to,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
“The hypersonic missile system will reliably contain any adversaries in the Pacific region that could affect our national security,” the agency quoted Kim as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is in North Korea for a visit and meeting with leader Kim Jong Un, which has raised concerns in the West about military cooperation between the two countries.
Kim also said his nuclear push is aimed at countering “various security threats posed by hostile forces to our country,” but KCNA did not mention any direct criticism of Washington, Seoul or Tokyo.
The launch took place when US Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Seoul for talks with South Korean allies on North Korea’s nuclear threat and other issues.
In a press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on Monday, Blinken criticized North Korea’s launch, violating UN Security Council resolutions against the North’s weapons programs. He also emphasized concern over the growing relationship between North Korea and Russia over Moscow’s war with Ukraine. He described military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow as a “two-way street,” saying Russia had been providing military equipment and training to the North and “intended to share space and satellite technology.”
According to US, Ukrainian and South Korean inspections, North Korea has sent more than 10,000 soldiers and conventional weapons systems to support Moscow’s military campaign. There are concerns that Russia may transfer advanced weapons technology to North Korea in return, which could enhance the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear-armed forces.
At the year-end political conference, Kim Jong-un vowed to implement a “tough” policy against the US and criticized the efforts of the Biden administration to strengthen security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, which he described as “an aggressive nuclear war.”
North Korean media did not specify Kim’s policy plans or make any specific comments about Trump.
During his first term as president, Trump and Kim exchanged a series of threats after North Korea’s weapons test, before meeting in person three times for talks that did not significantly change relations between the countries.
Even after Trump returns to the White House, a quick resumption of diplomatic relations with North Korea may be impossible. Kim’s strengthened position – built on his expanded nuclear arsenal, strengthening of the alliance with Russia and the weakening of international sanctions on the US – presents new challenges to solving the nuclear crisis, experts say.
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