North Korea announces 2nd successful missile test
SEOUL, South Korea — North Korea claimed Thursday to have conducted the second successful test flight of a hypersonic missile, days after leader Kim Jong Un vowed to bolster his military forces despite pandemic-related difficulties.
Wednesday's launch, the North's first known weapons test in about two months, indicates the country will press ahead with plans to modernize its nuclear and missile arsenals rather than return to disarmament talks anytime soon.
The official Korean Central News Agency said the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party expressed “great satisfaction” at the results of the missile test, which was observed by leading weapons officials.
Hypersonic weapons, which fly at speeds in excess of Mach 5, or five times the speed of sound, could pose crucial challenges to missile defense systems because of their speed and maneuverability. It's unclear whether and how soon North Korea could manufacture such a high-tech missile, but it was among a wishlist of sophisticated military assets that Kim disclosed early last year, along with a multi-warhead missile, spy satellites, solid-fueled long-range missiles and underwater-launched nuclear missiles.
Wednesday's test was the second of its kind since North Korea first launched a hypersonic missile last September.
“The successive successes in the test launches in the hypersonic missile sector have strategic significance in that they hasten a task for modernizing strategic armed force of the state,” a Korean Central News Agency dispatch said.
Korean Central News Agency said the missile made a 75-mile-long lateral movement before hitting a target 435 miles away. It said the test reconfirmed the flight control and stability of the missile and verified its fuel capsule under the winter weather conditions.
While North Korea appears to have made progress in the development of a hypersonic missile, it still needs more test flights to determine whether it meets its tactical objectives or how advanced a hypersonic weapon it could develop, said Lee Choon Geun, an expert and honorary research fellow at South Korea's Science and Technology Policy Institute.
He said the missile's reported lateral movement would provide the weapon with a greater maneuverability to evade enemy missile defense systems.
The North's latest launch was first detected by its neighbors.
The U.S. military called it a ballistic missile launch that “highlights the destabilizing impact of [North Korea's] illicit weapons program,” while South Korea and Japan expressed concerns or regrets over the launch. China, for its part, called for dialogue and said that “all parties concerned should keep in mind the big picture [and] be cautious with their words and actions.”
U.S.-led diplomacy on North Korea's nuclear program remains stalled since 2019 due to disputes over international sanctions on the North. The Biden administration has repeatedly called for resuming the nuclear diplomacy “anywhere and at any time” without preconditions, but North Korea has argued the U.S. must first withdraw its hostility against it before any talks can restart.