North Korea says it successfully test-fired a new type of intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile on Monday.
The ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on Tuesday that the country's Missile Administration staged the launch.
It said the hypersonic warhead flew at 12 times the speed of sound on a designated flight path before it landed 1,500 kilometers away on a target area in the open sea.
The newspaper carried a photo of leader Kim Jong Un watching the launch through a monitoring system, along with his daughter.
Kim was quoted as saying that the development of a new type of hypersonic missile is aimed at steadily putting the country's nuclear war deterrent "on an advanced basis."
He reportedly said the missile system "can deal a serious military strike to a rival while effectively breaking any dense defensive barrier." He added that it "will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region that can affect the security" of North Korea.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said the aim of the launch may have been to show that the North is capable of striking Guam, which is home to some US bases. It noted Pyongyang may have been trying to demonstrate this before Donald Trump assumes the US presidency on January 20.
The ruling Workers' Party newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, reported on Tuesday that the country's Missile Administration staged the launch.
It said the hypersonic warhead flew at 12 times the speed of sound on a designated flight path before it landed 1,500 kilometers away on a target area in the open sea.
The newspaper carried a photo of leader Kim Jong Un watching the launch through a monitoring system, along with his daughter.
Kim was quoted as saying that the development of a new type of hypersonic missile is aimed at steadily putting the country's nuclear war deterrent "on an advanced basis."
He reportedly said the missile system "can deal a serious military strike to a rival while effectively breaking any dense defensive barrier." He added that it "will reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region that can affect the security" of North Korea.
South Korea's Yonhap News Agency said the aim of the launch may have been to show that the North is capable of striking Guam, which is home to some US bases. It noted Pyongyang may have been trying to demonstrate this before Donald Trump assumes the US presidency on January 20.
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Summary
North Korea successfully test-fired a new intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile on Monday. The launch, reported by the ruling Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun, was carried out by the Missile Administration. The missile flew at 12 times the speed of sound and landed 1,500 kilometers
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ID: e3c9a2cb-ad94-4fb6-bd30-9260206581cd
Category ID: nhk
URL: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20250107_07/
Date: Jan. 7, 2025
Created: 2025/01/07 19:00
Updated: 2025/12/08 07:19
Last Read: 2025/01/08 08:34