{"id":54757,"date":"2022-01-12T02:15:42","date_gmt":"2022-01-12T02:15:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2022\/01\/12\/north-korea-claims-successful-test-of-hypersonic-missile\/"},"modified":"2026-08-20T12:31:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-20T12:31:40","slug":"north-korea-claims-successful-test-of-hypersonic-missile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/flashpoints\/2022\/01\/12\/north-korea-claims-successful-test-of-hypersonic-missile\/","title":{"rendered":"North Korea claims successful test of hypersonic missile"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEOUL, South Korea \u2014 North Korea says leader Kim Jong Un oversaw a successful flight test of a hypersonic missile he claimed would remarkably increase the country\u2019s nuclear \u201cwar deterrent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The report by North Korean state media on Wednesday came a day after the militaries of the United States, South Korea and Japan said they detected North Korea firing a suspected ballistic missile<\/a> into its eastern sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Korean Central News Agency said Tuesday\u2019s launch involved a hypersonic glide vehicle, which after its release from the rocket booster demonstrated \u201cglide jump flight\u201d and \u201ccorkscrew maneuvering\u201d before hitting a sea target 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) away. Photos released by the agency showed a missile mounted with a pointed cone-shaped payload soaring into the sky while leaving a trail of orange flames and Kim watching from a small cabin with top officials.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watches what it says a test launch of a hypersonic missile on Jan. 11, 2022 in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency\/Korea News Service via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The launch was North Korea\u2019s second test of its purported hypersonic missile in a week<\/a>, a type of weaponry it first tested in September, as Kim continues a defiant push to expand his nuclear weapons capabilities in the face of international sanctions, pandemic-related difficulties and deadlocked diplomacy with the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North has been ramping up its testing activity since last fall in what experts see as an attempt to apply more pressure on rivals Washington and Seoul to accept it as a nuclear power in hopes of winning relief from economic sanctions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The KCNA said Kim praised the accomplishments made by his military scientists and officials involved in developing the hypersonic missile system, which he described as the most significant part of a new five-year plan announced in early 2021 to build up the North\u2019s military force.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The North has described the new missile as part of its \u201cstrategic\u201d weaponry, implying that the system is being developed to deliver nuclear weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound<\/a>, could pose a crucial challenge to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability. Such weapons were on a wish-list of sophisticated military assets Kim unveiled early last year along with multi-warhead missiles, spy satellites, solid-fuel long-range missiles and submarine-launched nuclear missiles<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experts say North Korea is likely years away from acquiring a credible hypersonic system. But Kim\u2019s attendance at Tuesday\u2019s launch and the state media\u2019s description of it as a \u201cfinal test-fire\u201d indicated that the North was possibly moving toward deploying the weapon relatively soon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
This photo provided by the North Korean government shows North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, right, looks at the monitors as a test launch of a missile on Jan. 11, 2022 in North Korea. (Korean Central News Agency\/Korea News Service via AP)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe superior maneuverability of the hypersonic glide vehicle was more strikingly verified through the final test-fire,\u201d KCNA said. It said Kim stressed the need to speed up the expansion of the country\u2019s \u201cstrategic military muscle both in quality and quantity and further modernize the army\u201d and encouraged military scientists to continue their success in \u201cremarkably increasing the war deterrent of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

U.S. State Department spokesman Ned Price said Washington condemns the North\u2019s latest launch, which violates multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and poses a threat to neighbors and to the broader international community. The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command said the launch highlighted the \u201cdestabilizing impact of [North Korea\u2019s] illicit weapons program\u201d but didn\u2019t pose an immediate threat to U.S. territory or its allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe continue to call on the DPRK to refrain from further provocations and, importantly, to engage in sustained and substantive dialogue,\u201d Price said, using an abbreviation of North Korea\u2019s formal name, the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

South Korea\u2019s Joint Chiefs of Staff had said the North Korean missile flew 700 kilometers (434 miles) at a maximum speed of around Mach 10 before landing in waters off the North\u2019s eastern coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\t