Alleged test: does North Korea have a hypersonic missile?

North Korea has successfully tested a hypersonic missile, according to the official news agency KCNA. The test of great strategic importance to the country’s self-defense capabilities, it said.

The bullet fired on Tuesday by the self-declared nuclear power North Korea claims to have been a newly developed so-called hypersonic missile. This was reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap, citing the North Korean news agency KNCA.

The North Korean Academy of Defense Sciences fired the Hwasong-8 missile from Chagang province. The new missile has strategic importance for self-defense capabilities, it said. North Korea wants to expand its defense capabilities by a “thousandfold”. The test has proven that “all technical specifications meet the planning requirements,” wrote KCNA.

At a party meeting in late 2019, North Korean ruler Kim Jong Un threatened that the world would experience a “new strategic weapon” in the near future. Hypersonic describes speeds above five times the speed of sound, i.e. around 6180 kilometers per hour.

On Tuesday, the South Korean military announced that North Korea had fired a short-range missile into the open sea. It was unclear how far the missile flew and what type of missile it was. UN resolutions prohibit North Korea from testing ballistic missiles, which, depending on their design, can also carry a nuclear warhead.

The National Security Council in South Korea expressed its regret over the new missile test in the neighboring country. North Korea had already fired two short-range missiles a good two weeks ago. South Korean President Moon Jae called the test “Provokation2S.

For years, Pyongyang has been promoting the development of missiles that not only hit South Korea and Japan, but can also carry nuclear warheads as far as the USA. The country has declared itself a nuclear power. However, in light of the negotiations on its controversial nuclear program, its status is being kept open. However, the US negotiations with North Korea have not progressed for more than two and a half years.