North Korea said on Tuesday that its latest weapons test was a new hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to hit remote targets in the Pacific as leader Kim Jong-un vowed to further develop stockpiled nuclear capable weapons to combat rival nations.
The North Korean state media report came a day after South Korea's military said it had detected a North Korean launch of a missile that flew 1,100 kilometers before landing in waters between the Korean peninsula and Japan. The announcement, made weeks before Donald Trump's return as US president, came in a particularly difficult year in military testing.
North Korea demonstrated several weapons systems last year that could target its neighbors and the United States, including solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles, and there are concerns that its military capabilities could further advance further through technology transfers from Russia, as the two countries align over the war in Ukraine.
In recent years, North Korea has tested several intermediate range missiles, which, if it were to be achieved, could reach the US military center of Guam. In recent months, North Korea has been testing the combination of these missiles with hypersonic warheads that are said to make them survivable.
North Korea since 2021 has been testing several hypersonic weapons designed to fly at more than five times the speed of sound. The speed and maneuverability of such weapons are intended to withstand regional missile defense systems. However, it is not clear whether these missiles regularly fly at the speeds the North claims.
The North's state media said that Kim was overseeing the launch on Monday, and that the weapon traveled 1,500 kilometers, when it reached two different peaks of 99.8 kilometers and 42.5 kilometers and achieved a distance of was 12 times faster than sound, before it hit a sea target correctly. .
Lee Sung Joon, spokesman for the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, said that the South Korean military believes that North Korea was increasing the capabilities of the system, saying that the missile less distance coverage and the absence of the second peak.
Lee said the test was likely a follow-up to another hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile test last April and said it would be difficult to deploy such systems in a relatively small area like the Korean Peninsula. He said South Korean and US military personnel were continuing to investigate the missile.
The launch follows a visit by Blinken
Kim described the missile as a crucial achievement in his goals to curb the North's nuclear deterrent by building an arsenal “no one can answer to,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
“The hypersonic missile system will reliably engage any competitors in the Pacific region that affect the security of our state,” the agency quoted Kim as saying.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is in North Korea for a rare visit and meeting with Leader Kim Jong Un, who has raised concerns in the West about military cooperation between the two countries.
Kim reiterated that his nuclear campaign was aimed at countering “various security threats posed to our state by the hostile forces,” but KCNA did not mention any direct criticism towards Washington, Seoul or Tokyo.
The launch took place while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks with South Korean allies about the North Korean nuclear threat and other issues.
In a press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on Monday, Blinken criticized the North Korean publication, which violated the UN Security Council resolutions against the North's military programs. He also underscored concerns about the growing alignment between North Korea and Russia in Moscow's war on Ukraine. He described the military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow as a “two-way street,” saying that Russia has been providing military equipment and training to the North and “plans to use space and satellite technology sharing.”
According to US, Ukrainian and South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops and conventional weapons systems to support Moscow's war campaign. There are concerns that Russia could transfer advanced military technology back to North Korea, which could increase the threat posed by Kim's nuclear weapons.
At a year-end political summit, Kim Jong-un pledged to implement the “toughest” policy against the US and criticized the Biden administration's efforts to strengthen security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, which he said as a “nuclear weapons bloc for aggression.”
North Korean state media did not specify Kim's policy plans or mention any specific comments about Trump.
During his first term as president, Trump and Kim exchanging a series of bellicose threats after North Korea's military tests, before they met in person three times for talks that did not seem to significantly change the relationship between the countries.
Even after Trump returns to the White House, a quick resumption of diplomacy with North Korea may be unlikely. Kim's strengthened position – based on his expanded nuclear arsenal, deepening alliance with Russia and weakening US international sanctions – presents new challenges to resolving the nuclear standoff, experts say saying.
