North Korea says it tested hypersonic missile
North Korea has successfully tested a hypersonic missile, state media reported Thursday, in the first major weapons test by the nuclear-armed nation this year.
This was the second reported North Korean test of a hypersonic gliding missile to date -- following one in September last year -- as Pyongyang looks to add the sophisticated weapon to its arsenal despite international sanctions and condemnation.
Hypersonic missiles move far faster and are more agile than standard ones, making them much harder for missile defence systems -- on which the United States is spending billions -- to intercept.
The missile fired on Wednesday carried a "hypersonic gliding warhead" that "precisely hit a target 700 km away", the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported, without specifying the launcher used for the test.
The launch "reconfirmed the flight control and stability of the missile in the active-flight stage and assessed the performance of the new lateral movement technique applied to the detached hypersonic gliding warhead", KCNA said.
The test also verified the "fuel ampoule system under winter weather conditions", it added.
Seoul and Tokyo on Wednesday had detected the launch of a suspected ballistic missile from North Korea that fell in the sea east of the Korean peninsula.
Hypersonic missiles are generally defined as travelling more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5.
The KCNA report did not mention the speed at which the missile travelled, and assessments of its performance from other nations have yet to be released.
Hypersonic missiles are among the "top priority" tasks in North Korea's current five-year plan, state media said last year.
After the test of the Hwasong-8 in 2021, the South Korean military said it appeared to be in the early stages of development.
Depending on their design, hypersonic missiles can carry conventional and nuclear warheads, and have the potential to alter the strategic balance.
Russia is generally seen as the world leader in the technology, and the United States is also spending billions on it. China has tested hypersonic glide vehicles as well, according to the US Congressional Research Service.
Some experts caution that hypersonic weapons may have only limited advantages, while others warn that if North Korea fully develops the technology, it would pose a serious threat.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/north-korea-says-it-tested-hypersonic-missile/ar-AAStkHb
