North Korea says it tested new hypersonic missile

Name: North Korea fires first suspected ballistic missile of the new year
Uploaded: 2022-01-05T22:53:10.000Z
Duration: 2 min 22 s
Description: North Korea fires first suspected ballistic missile of the new year

The ‘hypersonic gliding warhead’ detached from its rocket booster ‘precisely hit’ a target 700km away, state media reported

The Wednesday launch, the first in 2022, comes as the country pursues new military capabilities amid stalled denuclearisation talks

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Reuters

Published: 6:53am, 6 Jan 2022Updated: 4:01pm, 6 Jan 2022

North Korea test fired a “hypersonic missile” this week that successfully hit a target, state news agency KCNA reported on Thursday, as the country pursues new military capabilities amid stalled denuclearisation talks.

The launch on Wednesday was the first by North Korea since October and was detected by several militaries in the region, drawing criticism from governments in the United States, South Korea, and Japan.

“The successive successes in the test launches in the hypersonic missile sector have strategic significance in that they hasten a task for modernising strategic armed force of the state,” the KCNA report said.

In Wednesday’s test, the “hypersonic gliding warhead” detached from its rocket booster and manoeuvred 120km (75 miles) laterally before it “precisely hit” a target 700km (430 miles) away, KCNA reported.

While ballistic missiles are typically “hypersonic” – travelling in excess of five times the speed of sound – North Korea is referring to the use of high-speed gliders to carry warheads past missile defences.

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North Korea fires first suspected ballistic missile of the new year

The test also confirmed components such as flight control and its ability to operate in the winter, KCNA added.