North Korea says it has conducted its second test of a “hypersonic” missile, as Pyongyang shuns South Korea’s efforts to revive a stalled peace process.
The ballistic missile was launched from North Korea’s Chagang province on Wednesday morning and travelled 700km towards the Sea of Japan, according to KCNA, the state media agency.
The warhead made a 120km horizontal manoeuvre designed to defeat missile defence systems, KCNA said, adding that the launch had also successfully tested a new fuel transport system in freezing temperatures.
Analysts said the missile appeared to be a manoeuvrable re-entry vehicle that the North Korean regime displayed at a defence exhibition in October.
Pyongyang claimed its first hypersonic missile test in September last year.
Hypersonic refers to missiles that travel at five times the speed of sound, but the term is often used to describe weapons that use re-entry vehicles capable of lateral movements, which hamper missile defence systems.
“This is just one of many new developments in North Korea’s missile programme — they have successfully tested intercontinental ballistic missiles, so they are focused on developing a wide range of other capabilities too,” said Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at Korea National Diplomatic Academy, a research body affiliated with South Korea’s foreign ministry.
“It’s not about threatening the US mainland, but its allies and territories like Guam.”
The Financial Times reported last year that China had conducted two hypersonic weapon tests in July and August that involved propelling a nuclear-capable hypersonic glide vehicle into space and around the earth before re-entry.
Pyongyang’s latest test, of a more modest capability, followed a New Year’s address by Kim Jong Un, the country’s leader, during which he vowed to continue “strengthening defence capabilities due to the ever-destabilising situation on the Korean Peninsula”.
The test also marked the latest snub of outgoing South Korean president Moon Jae-in, who has staked his political legacy on reviving a diplomatic process that has remained moribund since talks collapsed between Kim and former US president Donald Trump in 2019.
“This morning, North Korea test-launched an unidentified short-range projectile — and because of this, there are concerns that this may create tension or deepen inter-Korean deadlock,” Moon said.
“In order fundamentally to overcome these situations, we must not give up on dialogue, and North Korea must make a more serious effort for talks as well,” added Moon, whose presidential term ends in May.
Antony Blinken, US secretary of state, “condemned [North Korea]’s missile launch and stressed [that] US commitment to the defence of Japan remains ironclad” in a call with Japan’s foreign minister on Wednesday.
“North Korea has made several requests for sanctions relief, which the US is not prepared to grant,” said Kim Hyun-wook. “These missile tests are a message to the US and South Korea that as long as Pyongyang doesn’t get what it wants, it will continue with these kinds of provocations.”
