This is the second time that Pyongyang refers to a missile shot of this type, a sophisticated weapon that attests to the advances of the North Korean defense industry.
Le Monde with AP and AFP
North Korea qualified, in 2021, hypersonic missiles like “first priorities” of its five-year plan. It was quick to confirm it in 2022. The North Korean official agency KCNA reported, Thursday, January 6, that Pyongyang proceeded, the day before, at a trial shot that was carrying a “hypersonic ogive” which A “accurately reaches a target at 700 km away”, according to KCNA.
The agency did not specify the speed of the shot shot and the neighboring countries have not published an estimate, but the hypersonic missiles generally reach Mach 5, or five times the sound speed.
The launch made it possible to “reconfirm the flight control and stability of the missile in the active flight phase and to evaluate the performance of the new lateral motion technique applied to detached hypersonic ogient,” said KCNA. The test also made it possible to check the “fuel bulb system under winter weather conditions,” added the agency.
This is the second time that North Korea refers to a hypersonic missile shot, a sophisticated weapon that attests to the advances of the North Korean defense industry. After trying Hwasong-8 in September 2021, the South Korean army felt that the missile was in the early stages of its development.
Faster and more manageable missiles
This type of missile is faster and more manageable than a standard missile, which makes it more difficult to intercept for defense systems, for which the United States spend billions of dollars. Depending on their design, supersonic missiles can transport conventional or nuclear warheads and can change the strategic balance.
Wednesday, South Korea and Japan had detected a shot by Pyongyang unidentified projectile, which would be a ballistic missile, in the sea located in the east of the peninsula (Japan Sea, or the sea of the Is according to the Korean appellation). The United States condemned this shot which according to them “violates several resolutions of the UN Security Council and represents a threat to the neighbors of North Korea and the international community”.
This first weapon test in 2022 follows a year of major tests despite the serious impact of the pandemic on the country’s economy. The crisis did not affect military programs and Pyongyang continues the development of its arsenal, unveiled a UN report in October. But in the country, the concern of a serious food crisis has been accentuated and a UN Human Rights expert warned in October that the most vulnerable people were “threatened with famine”.