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North Korea’s official media said that the weapon North Korea launched on its east coast on Tuesday morning was a newly developed hypersonic missile, which is the latest development in the weapons and equipment of the country that possesses nuclear weapons.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said on Wednesday that the development of the weapon system has improved North Korea’s defense capabilities and described the missile as a “strategic weapon.”
The official newspaper “Labor Sinmun” published a photo of this weapon — with a set of guiding fins at the bottom of its nose cone — rising into the morning sky.
North Korea has been steadily developing its military arsenal because negotiations have stalled, aiming to dismantle its nuclear and ballistic missile arsenal in exchange for relief from sanctions that weaken its economy.
KCNA stated that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the launch ceremony and senior official Pak Jong Chon watched the launch.
“In the first test launch, defense scientists confirmed the missile’s navigation control and stability,” it said.
It said that the missile, called Hwasong-8, achieved its technical goals, “including the guided maneuverability and gliding flight characteristics of a separate hypersonic glide warhead.”
Ankit Panda, a senior researcher at the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace based in the United States, said that the “Hua Song” series of missiles use liquid propellant engines.
“This is the first time North Korea has tested a liquid propellant missile since November 2017,” he wrote on Twitter.
This is the third test conducted by North Korea this month, and South Korea is also developing increasingly advanced weapons. On September 15, the two countries conducted ballistic missile tests just a few hours apart. On Tuesday, Seoul held the launching ceremony of the third submarine capable of carrying submarine-launched ballistic missiles.
Leif-Eric Easley, associate professor of international studies at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, said in an email: “Due to their speed and different trajectories, hypersonic missiles are difficult to detect, track and defend.”
“The advancement in fuel is designed to allow Pyongyang to launch missiles quickly, making it more difficult for other countries to preemptively target and destroy them before launch. North Korea is unlikely to reliably develop all the technologies it claims. But if Pyongyang manages to A nuclear warhead mounted on even a rudimentary hypersonic system would be a dangerous weapon because it does not have to threaten the nearby metropolis of Seoul very precisely.”
‘can be predicted’
South Korea has been trying to attract North Korea to participate again; however, since the collapse of the summit between Kim Jong Un and former US President Donald Trump in 2019, denuclearization negotiations have stalled.
After South Korean President Moon Jae-in called for an official end to the Korean War of 1950-1953, North Korea said last week that it would consider holding another summit with South Korea if it can ensure mutual respect between neighboring countries.
The South Korean military announced the launch shortly after the launch on Tuesday, but did not disclose the maximum altitude and flight distance of the missile. This information is usually provided within about an hour.
South Korean media reports cited unidentified sources as saying that the projectile had “different flight characteristics” from previous launches, and President Moon Jae-in called for a “comprehensive analysis” of the launch. Japan calls this a ballistic missile.
North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 and was subject to multiple sets of international sanctions for its banned nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. It has already tested long-range cruise missiles and ballistic missiles launched by trains this month.
(Al Jazeera)The United States has repeatedly expressed its willingness to meet with North Korean officials at any place, at any time, without preconditions, in an effort to resume negotiations on denuclearization. It condemned Tuesday’s launch as a violation of sanctions and a threat to the international community.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at Kyungnam University’s Far East Research Institute, said that North Korea hopes to use its weapons development “as a means to make room for diplomatic maneuvers and strengthen military posture”.
Lim said that he expects to launch more products in the future.
“To some extent, North Korea’s recent behavior is predictable,” he told AFP.
“They have sent a signal for military action and are now implementing it step by step.”
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