North Korea has announced the successful launch of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile equipped with a hypersonic warhead, claiming it “will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region.”
The launch on Monday, Pyongyang’s first in two months, occurred as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul for talks with South Korea’s top leaders.
Hypersonic weapons are harder to track and intercept due to their ability to travel at speeds greater than five times the speed of sound. North Korea asserts that its missile reached speeds 12 times the speed of sound, covering a distance of around 1,500 kilometers.
South Korea’s military reported the missile flew 1,100 kilometers before plunging into the sea, condemning the act as a “clear provocation.”
North Korea has previously tested hypersonic missiles, and images released by KCNA suggested Monday’s missile resembled one launched in April of the previous year. However, Pyongyang claims the new missile is equipped with an updated “flight and guidance control system” and a carbon fiber engine.
Kim Jong Un, the country’s leader, stated that Monday’s launch “clearly showed the rivals what we are doing and that we are fully ready to use any means to defend our legitimate interests,” according to the state news agency KCNA.
Ankit Panda, a nuclear weapons expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, remarked that the launch of a new weapon was “unsurprising.”
“We’ve known that North Korea has been working with composite materials for use in missiles for a number of years now.
“The appeal of these materials is to broadly improve the performance and reliability of the payload… Better materials can increase the odds of their survival to the target,” he told the BBC.
Although hypersonic weaponry has been in development for decades, recent advancements have led to the creation of missiles that are far more agile, able to re-enter the atmosphere more quickly, and capable of conducting evasive maneuvers, according to the Center for Arms Control and Non-proliferation.
Hypersonic missiles can still be detected by space-based sensors, and reports indicate that existing technology could intercept them despite their erratic flight paths. This interception is most likely to occur during the final phase of their flight when they are traveling at a slower speed after having passed through the atmosphere.
While in Seoul on Monday, Blinken stated that the US believes Russia intends to share advanced space and satellite technology with North Korea. He also mentioned that Moscow might be on the verge of reversing its long-standing commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula by acknowledging Pyongyang as a nuclear power.
During his visit, Blinken met with South Korea’s acting president, Choi Sang-mok, and described the US-South Korea alliance as a “cornerstone of peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.”
South Korea’s military has increased surveillance for North Korea’s future missile launches and is “closely sharing information” on the launch with the US and Japan.
The launch occurred amidst ongoing political turmoil in South Korea, following President Yoon Suk Yeol’s brief attempt to implement martial law in December. Yoon, who was stripped of his presidential powers after being impeached by lawmakers, is now facing potential arrest. The constitutional court is also deliberating on whether he should be removed from office.
Pyongyang previously mocked Yoon’s martial law declaration as an “insane act” and, without irony, accused him of “brazenly brandishing blades and guns of fascist dictatorship at his own people.”
North Korea is one of the world’s most repressive totalitarian states. Its leader Kim Jong Un and his family have ruled the hermit nation for decades, developing and promoting a cult of personality.
The last time Pyongyang fired missiles was in November, a day before the US presidential election, when it launched at least seven short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast.
Earlier that week, the US had flown a long-range bomber during trilateral military drills with South Korea and Japan in a show of power, drawing condemnation from Kim’s sister Kim Yo Jong.