Seoul, South Korea — North Korea said the latest weapons test on Tuesday was a new medium-range hypersonic missile designed to strike distant targets in the Pacific Ocean, as leader Kim Jong-un vowed to further expand his nuclear arsenal to counter rival nations.
The report by North Korean state media came a day after South Korea's military said it had discovered North Korea launched a missile that flew 1,100 kilometers (685 miles) before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The launch, which comes just weeks before Donald Trump is set to return to the US presidency, capped a fraught year of weapons testing.
Last year, North Korea demonstrated several weapons systems that could target its neighbors and the United States, including solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles, and there are fears that its military capabilities could be advanced by technology transfers from Russia as the two countries grow closer. war in Ukraine.
In recent years, North Korea has conducted flight tests of various medium-range missiles that, if refined, could reach the US Pacific military center of Guam. In recent months, Pyongyang has tested combining these missiles with alleged hypersonic warheads to increase their survivability.
North Korea has been testing various hypersonic weapons since 2021, designed to fly at more than five times the speed of sound. The speed and maneuverability of such weapons make it possible to counter regional missile defense systems. However, it is not clear whether these missiles are constantly flying at the speed claimed by the North.
The North's state media said Kim directed Monday's launch and that the weapon traveled 1,500 kilometers (932 miles), during which it reached two different peaks of 99.8 kilometers (62 miles) and 42.5 kilometers (26.4 miles) and reached a speed of 12 times. the speed of sound before accurately hitting a naval target.
Lee Sung-jun, a spokesman for South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the South Korean military believes North Korea is exaggerating the system's capabilities, saying the missile traveled a shorter distance and that there was no second peak.
Lee said the test was likely a follow-up to another test of an intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile last April, and said it would be difficult to use such systems in a relatively small area such as the Korean Peninsula. He said the South Korean and US militaries continue to analyze the missile.
According to the official Korean Central News Agency, Kim described the missile as a key achievement in his goals of strengthening North America's nuclear deterrent by building an arsenal “that no one can answer.”
“The hypersonic missile system will reliably deter any adversaries in the Pacific region who may affect the security of our state,” the agency quoted Kim as saying.
Kim reiterated that his nuclear push was aimed at countering “various security threats posed by hostile forces to our state,” but KCNA did not mention any direct criticism of Washington, Seoul or Tokyo.
The launches came as US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken visited Tokyo and Seoul for talks with Japanese and South Korean allies on the North Korean nuclear threat and other issues.
At a press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on Monday, Blinken condemned North Korea's launch, which violated UN Security Council resolutions against North Korea's weapons programs. He also reiterated concerns about the growing rapprochement between North Korea and Russia in Moscow's war against Ukraine. He called military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow a “two-way street,” saying Russia provides the North with military equipment and training and “intends to share space and satellite technology.”
According to US, Ukrainian and South Korean estimates, North Korea has sent more than 10,000 troops and conventional weapons systems to support Moscow's military campaign. There are concerns that Russia could transfer advanced weapons technology to North Korea in return, potentially increasing the threat posed by Kim's nuclear army.
At a year-end policy conference, Kim vowed to pursue the “hardest” anti-US policy and criticized the Biden administration's efforts to strengthen security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, which he called a “nuclear military bloc for aggression.”
North Korean state media did not elaborate on Kim's political plans or mention any specific comments about Trump. During his first term as president, Trump met with Kim three times to discuss North Korea's nuclear program.
Even if Trump returns to the White House, a quick resumption of diplomacy with North Korea may be unlikely. Experts say Kim Jong-un's strengthening position, based on his expanded nuclear arsenal, deepening alliance with Russia and loosening of US international sanctions, poses new challenges to resolving the nuclear standoff.