A new hypersonic missile test has been passed by North Korea, the second in less than a week.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally supervised the successful test of a hypersonic missile, the second such test by Pyongyang in less than a week, North Korean state media reported on Wednesday. .
The missile carrying a “hypersonic planing warhead” hit a “target at sea 1000 kilometers away,” KCNA said, adding that the test confirmed “the excellent maneuverability of the hypersonic combat unit”.
Photos uploaded to the website of Rodong Sinmun, the official journal of the ruling Workers’ Party, show the missile firing at dawn as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un gazes on men. in military uniform.
The South Korean defense estimated that the shot had reached hypersonic speed and clearly demonstrated “progress” over that of last week.
According to the KCNA report, the hypersonic vehicle “performed a glide flight from an area of 600 kilometers before performing a spin flight for 240 kilometers.”
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 Kim 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.
“A satisfactory level of completion”
Since Kim Jong Un came to power ten years ago, North Korea has rapidly advanced its military technology. Hypersonic missiles are among the “top priorities” of North Korea’s five-year plan, state media reported last year.
“Kim Jong Un’s presence on trial suggests that the hypersonic missile has reached a satisfactory level of completion,” said Lim Eul-chul, professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul.
Russia, the United States and China have also said they have successfully tested hypersonic glider vehicles, a technology in which Russia is widely regarded as the world leader.
But analysts questioned North Korea’s progress.
“It is more accurate to describe it as a maneuver re-entry vehicle” than as a hypersonic weapon, said Ankit Panda of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.
“The so-called hypersonic weapon is not technologically ready to be deployed” by North Korea, also said Leif-Eric Easley, professor at Ewha University in Seoul, while acknowledging that “Pyongyang’s ability to threaten its neighbors nevertheless continue to grow “.
Failure in the talks
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 trial 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 “hostile” policy.
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.
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