North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attended and supervised the test launch of a new intermediate-range solid-fuel missile equipped with a hypersonic warhead, as reported by the country’s official state media.
The Korean Central News Agency stated that Kim Jong Un oversaw the test launch of the Hwasong-16 missile, powered by solid fuel, in a suburb of Pyongyang. Kim claimed that all of North Korea’s developed missiles now utilize solid fuel technology and are capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
On Tuesday, North Korea launched a ballistic missile toward the Sea of Japan, with the projectile falling into waters beyond Japan’s exclusive economic zone. South Korean military officials suggested that the launched projectile might have been a hypersonic weapon.
Hypersonic missiles are engineered to travel at speeds exceeding five times the speed of sound on unpredictable and low-altitude flight paths.
Solid-fuel missiles, unlike liquid-fuel missiles, do not require fueling before launch, making it challenging for other nations to detect launch preparations and enhance their preemptive strike and retaliatory capability.
North Korea previously announced in January that it had test-fired an intermediate-range ballistic missile with a hypersonic warhead. Last month, the country claimed to have conducted a successful ground test of a solid-fuel jet engine for an intermediate-range hypersonic missile.
During Tuesday’s test, the hypersonic warhead reached two peaks at heights of 101.1 kilometres and 72.3 kilometres while flying a distance of 1,000 kilometres, accurately hitting waters in the Sea of Japan. Kim expressed satisfaction with the test results, highlighting the significance of enhancing North Korea’s nuclear war deterrent.
The test-fire had no adverse effects on neighbouring countries’ security, according to the news agency. Kim Jong Un emphasized that the recent success represents a significant milestone in enhancing North Korea’s nuclear deterrence capabilities.