North Korea responded
by claiming that it successfully tested a hypersonic missile on Wednesday,
according to the state-run news agency KCNA. “The successive successes in the
test launches in the hypersonic missile sector have strategic significance in
that they hasten a task for modernizing [the] strategic armed force of the
state,” according to the state news agency KCNA. The Agency added that the
missile had “precisely hit” a target located 700km away.
Hypersonic weapons fly
towards targets at lower altitudes, unlike ballistic missiles that fly into
outer space before returning on steep trajectories. The missile can achieve
more than five times the speed of sound – or about 6,200 kilometres per hour
(3,850 miles per hour).
The latest launch -
the first since a New Year speech in which Mr Kim set out policy priorities for
2022 - was first reported by the Japanese coast guard early on Wednesday before
being confirmed by Seoul’s defence authorities.
This is the second
reported hypersonic missile test, which can avoid detection for longer than
ballistic missiles. The country first tested a hypersonic missile, the
Hwasong-8, in September.