According to state media, North Korea successfully tested a hypersonic missile on Thursday, the first major test by the nuclear-armed country.
According to foreign news agency AFP, this was the second reported test in North Korea's efforts to acquire the latest technology despite international sanctions and condemnation, which North Korea claimed was hypersonic gliding. There is a missile.
Hypersonic missiles travel much faster and are much more dynamic than conventional missiles, making it difficult for the United States to target missile defense systems.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said without giving details of the missile's launcher that the missile fired on Wednesday had a "hypersonic gliding warhead" aimed at it, which "hit a target 700 km away." ۔
The statement added that the warhead also demonstrated a new capability and flew 120 km vertically after detaching from the launcher.
"Successive successes in experimental launches in the field of hypersonic missiles are of strategic importance," the KCNA said.
Hypersonic missiles have been included in North Korea's current five-year plan as a "top priority" for strategic weapons, and North Korea announced the first test of its Hyosonic missile Huasung 8 in September last year.
Depending on their design, hypersonic missiles can carry conventional and nuclear warheads and are capable of shifting strategic balance, typically flying at 5 times the speed of sound or 5 mph.
Ankit Panda of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a US think tank, citing ballistic missile defense in his tweet said: "It seems that North Korea has recognized hypersonic gliders as a military necessity. The reason is that they think they are effective in dealing with ballistic missile defense.
He added that independent and detailed data would be needed on how it would work, but that if the official statements were to be seen, the experiment would have been better than the one in September.
According to some experts, the benefits of hypersonic weapons are limited, while others warn that if North Korea develops the technology to its full potential, it could pose serious risks.
In the decade since Kim Jong Un took office, North Korea has rapidly developed its military technology at the expense of international sanctions.
In 2021, North Korea successfully tested a new type of submarine-launched ballistic missile, a long-range cruise missile, and a train-launched weapon, in addition to hypersonic missiles.
The United States, Japan, Canada and Germany have all condemned the recent experiment.
A State Department spokesman said the experiment violated a number of UN Security Council resolutions and posed a threat to North Korea's neighbors and the international community.
