North Korea Successfully Test-Fired Hypersonic Missile

By Staff, Agencies

North Korea said Monday it had successfully test-fired a new ballistic missile tipped with a hypersonic maneuverable warhead, the latest breakthrough in its pursuit of advanced weaponry to threaten South Korean and US targets.

The launch, Pyongyang’s first known weapons test this year and its first ever test of a solid-fuel hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile [IRBM], was detected by Seoul’s military Sunday afternoon.

A short report in the official Korean Central News Agency said that the solid-fuel IRMB was “loaded with a hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead.”

The test was meant to verify “the gliding and maneuvering characteristics” of the warhead and the “reliability of newly developed multi-stage high-thrust solid-fuel engines,” KCNA said.

KCNA said that Sunday’s launch “never affected the security of any neighboring country and had nothing to do with the regional situation.”

It also comes after Kim last week branded Seoul his “principal enemy” and warned he would not hesitate to annihilate South Korea, as he toured major weapons factories.

Seoul’s defense ministry condemned the launch, saying it will carry out an “overwhelming response” if North Korea conducts “a direct provocation” against the South.

“This behavior by North Korea is a clear provocation that violates UN Security Council resolutions banning the use of ballistic missile technology, and we issue a stern warning and strongly urge it to stop immediately,” it added in a statement.