North Korea tests missile to check its hypersonic tech in winters
Seoul, Jan 6 (EFE).- North Korea has successfully tested a hypersonic missile, marking its first weapons test this year to check the reliability of such a system in winter conditions, the state media said Thursday.
The launch was the second known test of the North Korean hypersonic gliding missiles conducted Wednesday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency said.
“The missile made a 120 km lateral movement in the flight distance of the hypersonic gliding warhead from the initial launch azimuth to the target azimuth and precisely hit a set target 700 km away,” the news agency said.
“The test launch clearly demonstrated the control and stability of the hypersonic gliding warhead, which combined the multi-stage gliding jump flight and the strong lateral movement.”
The news agency said the North Korean Academy of Defense Science “reconfirmed the flight control and stability of the missile in the active-flight stage.”
“The reliability of fuel ampoule system under the winter weather conditions was also verified.”
Conventional liquid fuel systems require hours of injection before launch, but ampoule systems use a propellant canister already attached to the missile.
North Korea carried out its first test of the hypersonic missile system last September from the Chagang region.
It is believed that the test on Wednesday also took place from the same launch site.
The second test of the hypersonic missile system suggests that the North Korean regime maybe be working on perfecting the use of the technology.
The South Korean military said the US and its intelligence authorities conducted a detailed analysis of the weapons test.
Yonhap news agency said the US Indo-Pacific Command was aware of the “ballistic missile launch,” and assessed that it “does not pose an immediate threat to US personnel or territory or to our allies.”
Intelligence analysis indicates that the speed of the latest missile would exceed Mach 5 (five times the speed of sound).
The previous missile hit around Mach 3.
“The successive successes of test launches in the hypersonic missile sector are of strategic importance, as they hasten the modernization of the military,” the North Korean state agency said.
The launch took place days after a five-day Central Committee plenary of the ruling Workers’ Party on Friday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed strengthening the defensive capabilities, claiming that the security environment on the peninsula and the international scene was “unstable.”
North Korea has resumed missile tests and maintained silence on proposals to restore the stalled denuclearization dialog with the US.
It has also given a lukewarm response to conciliatory gestures from South Korea. EFE
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