Conflicts
Seoul doubts North Korea’s indication of hypersonic missile
Test launch of a hypersonic missile in North Korea. Photo: KCNA / dpa
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North Korea claims to have tested a second successful test of a hypersonic missile – the missile hit a target 700 kilometers away. South Korea does not believe this information.
South Korea has doubts about information provided by North Korea regarding the latest alleged test of a hypersonic missile.
North Korea’s claims about the missile’s capabilities, including its range and lateral movements, “appear to be exaggerated,” said the South Korean Ministry of Defense. The Ministry generally comes to the conclusion that the largely isolated neighboring country does not yet have the technology for a supersonic missile.
North Korea had previously spoken of a successful second test of a hypersonic missile within four months. In the most recent test on Wednesday, the missile performed a lateral maneuver over 120 kilometers and hit a specified target in the Sea of Japan (Korean: East Sea) 700 kilometers away. According to South Korea, analyzes showed that the missile flew shorter, at an altitude of less than 50 kilometers. Compared to the rocket launch in September, the test does not represent any technological progress.
South Korean news agency Yonhap quoted an official from a defense agency as saying that the missile may have been “a normal ballistic missile”. This is what South Korea and Japan had initially assumed after the rocket launch. In September, however, North Korea tested a weapon that was more like a hypersonic glide missile.
UN resolution prohibits North Korea from testing missiles which, depending on their design, can also carry a nuclear warhead. Hypersonic missiles can also potentially carry a nuclear weapon. These weapons are particularly difficult to intercept because they can reach more than five times the speed of sound.