Dictator Kim Jong-un has claimed his hypersonic missile flew 930 miles at 12 times the speed of sound before landing in the waters between the Korean Penisula and Japan
North Korea has claimed it successfully test fired a new hypersonic missile designed to strike remote targets in the Pacific – as fears grow over Kim Jong-un’s “deception.”
The dictator has vowed to further expand his collection of nuclear-capable weapons to counter rival nations, just a day after North Korea claimed his missile flew 930 miles at 12 times the speed of sound before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan.
Lee Sung Joon, spokesperson of South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the South Korean military believes North Korea was exaggerating capabilities of the system, saying the missile covered less distance and that there was no second peak.
Lee said the test was likely a followup to another hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile test last April and said it would be difficult to use such systems in a relatively small territory like the Korean Peninsula. He said the South Korean and US militaries were continuing to analyse the missile.
“It is assessed that North Korea’s claim of the flight distance and the second peak altitude is highly likely deception,” said Lee Sung Joon. “The flight range analysed by South Korea, the United States and Japan is around 1,100 kilometers and [the missile] did not reach a second peak. Hypersonic missiles will be difficult to demonstrate their performance in the Korean Peninsula, which has a short length of depth,” said Lee.
The launch was conducted while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks with South Korean allies over the North Korean nuclear threat and other issues.
North Korea has been testing various hypersonic weapons designed to fly at more than five times the speed of sound since 2021. The speed and maneuverability of such weapons aim to withstand regional missile defense systems. However, it’s unclear whether these missiles are consistently flying at the speeds the North claims.
Kim described the missile as a crucial achievement in his goals to bolster the North’s nuclear deterrence by building an arsenal “no one can respond to,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.
“The hypersonic missile system will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region that can affect the security of our state,” the agency quoted Kim as saying. Kim reiterated that his nuclear push was aimed at countering “different security threats the hostile forces posed to our state,” but KCNA didn’t mention any direct criticism toward Washington, Seoul or Tokyo.
In a news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on Monday, Blinken condemned North Korea’s launch, which violated UN Security Council resolutions against the North’s weapons program. He also reiterated 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 Russia has been providing military equipment and training to the North and “intends to share space and satellite technology”.