
North Korea tested a hypersonic missile successfully on Thursday, state media reported. It was the first major weapons test by the nuclear-armed nation this year. As Pyongyang pursues sophisticated technology despite international sanctions and condemnation, this was its second reported test of what it said were hypersonic gliding missiles.
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. As part of its demonstration, the warhead also moved 120 kilometres laterally after detaching from the launcher to strike its target after it detached.
The Wednesday launch also examined how the fuel ampoule system would perform under winter weather conditions. According to KCNA, the successive successes in the test launches in the hypersonic missile sector have strategic significance.
Hypersonic missiles have a much higher speed and agility than standard ones, making them harder to intercept by missile defence systems for which the United States is spending billions of dollars.