North Korea launched second hypersonic missile in less than a week

New shot in North Korea. Pyongyang successfully tested a hypersonic missile on Tuesday (January 11th), the official North Korean news agency KCNA said on Wednesday. This is the second such trial in less than a week.

The missile carrying a “hypersonic planing warhead“touched a”target at sea at 1000 km distance“said KCNA, adding that this test had confirmed”the excellent maneuverability of the hypersonic combat unitPhotos posted on the website of Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, show the missile firing at dawn as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watched. men in military uniform.

The South Korean defense estimated that this shot reached hypersonic speed and clearly attested to “progress“compared to last week’s. According to the KCNA report, the hypersonic vehicle has”glided from an area of ​​600 km before performing a spin flight for 240 km.“

Hypersonic missiles typically reach Mach 5, which is five times the speed of sound, or even more. They are faster and more maneuverable than standard missiles, making them more difficult to intercept for defense systems, on which the United States spends billions of dollars.

Other footage from the Rodong Sinmun shows the missile taking off at dawn in a cloud of fire, and dictator Kim Jong Un chatting with uniformed officials. This is North Korea’s third test of a hypersonic hover missile, following that of September 2021 and last week, as the country seeks to add the sophisticated weapon to its arsenal.

“Kim Jong Un’s presence on trial suggests hypersonic missile has reached satisfactory completion level“said Lim Eul-chul, professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul. Since Kim Jong Un came to power ten years ago, North Korea has rapidly advanced its technology. military. Hypersonic missiles are among the “first priorities“of North Korea’s five-year plan, state media reported last year.

The projectile was fired during a closed-door meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Pyongyang’s weapons programs. US State Department spokesman Ned Price said the launch “violates multiple UN Security Council resolutions“.

Tuesday’s essay comes as Pyongyang refused to respond to US calls for talks. The dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington remains at an impasse after the failure in 2019 of talks between Kim Jong Un and then US President Donald Trump.

The government of current President Joe Biden has repeatedly shown its willingness to meet with North Korean envoys and aim for denuclearization, but Pyongyang rejected the offer, accusing the United States of pursuing a policy. “hostile“.

North Korea faces international sanctions for its banned weapons programs. The pressure on its struggling economy has been heightened by the strict border closures ordered to combat the coronavirus pandemic.