SEOUL —
Kim Jong-Un personally oversaw the
successful test of a hypersonic missile, state media said Wednesday, and urged
North Korea to press ahead with building more “strategic military muscle”
despite international sanctions over its nuclear weapons program.
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Pictures in state media showed Kim using binoculars
to observe the second missile launch by the nuclear-armed nation in less than a
week.
Hypersonic missiles are listed among the “top
priority” tasks for strategic weapons development in
North Korea’s five-year
plan.
After the launch, Kim said North Korea must “further
accelerate the efforts to steadily build up the country’s strategic military
muscle both in quality and quantity and further modernize the army”, according
to KCNA.
The Tuesday test, which came as the
UN Security Council met in New York to discuss Pyongyang’s weapons program, sparked swift
condemnation, with the US State Department branding it a “threat ... to the
international community.”
It was the third reported North Korean test of a
hypersonic gliding missile. The first, which took place four months ago, was
followed by one last week.
North Korea’s state news agency KCNA said the most
recent test demonstrated “the superior maneuverability of the hypersonic glide
vehicle”. It also claimed it accurately hit a target some 1,000km away.
South Korea’s military, which had cast doubt on
Pyongyang’s initial claims, said the missile launched on Tuesday had reached
hypersonic speeds and showed clear signs of “progress” from last week’s test.
The missile flew 700km at an altitude of about 60km
at Mach 10 speed, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said.
Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds of at least
Mach 5 — five times the speed of sound — and can man oeuvre mid-flight, making
them harder to track and intercept.
“Everything about this test is a reminder that North
Korea is all-in on a new military modernization campaign,” Ankit Panda of the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace said on Twitter Wednesday.
“Kim’s working his way down his 8th Party Congress
wish list and is once again personally guiding tests,” Panda said, referring to
a recent meeting of high-level North Korean officials.
Russia, the United States and China have all
reported successfully testing hypersonic glide missiles. Russia is generally
seen as the world leader in the technology.
Leif-Eric Easley, a professor at Ewha University in
Seoul, said the weapon was not ready for deployment.
“Nonetheless, Pyongyang’s ability to threaten its
neighbors continues to grow,” he said.
The fact that Kim attended the missile test
indicates that North Korea is satisfied with the level of progress, said Lim
Eul-chul, a professor of North Korean studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul.
“Since ... the test was the final verification,
additional tests of hypersonic missiles, at least, are not expected for a
while,” Lim said.
Stalled talks
The tests come as North
Korea has refused to respond to US appeals for talks.
At a key meeting last month of North Korea’s ruling
party, Kim vowed to continue building up the country’s defense capabilities,
without mentioning the United States.
Dialogue between
Washington and Pyongyang remains
stalled, and the country is under multiple sets of international sanctions over
its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The impoverished nation has also been under a rigid
self-imposed coronavirus blockade that has hammered its economy.
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