Click to see full-size image. (The Korean Central News Agency)
North Korea test-fired a new solid-fueled hypersonic intermediate-range missile (IRBM), the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced on April 3.
Leader Jong Un oversaw the launch of the new Hwasong-16B missile, KCNA said, calling it a strategic weapon showcasing the “absolute superiority” of the North’s defense technology.
The new missile perfects the North’s project for “putting all the tactical, operational and strategic missiles with various ranges on solid-fuelled, warhead-controlled and nuclear warhead-carrying basis,” Kim said, according to the North Korean news agency.
The leader added that the solid-fuel missile would give North Korea the capacity for “rapidly, accurately and powerfully striking any target in the enemy side worldwide,”
Kim also promised to further develop the country’s arsenal to counter his “enemies”, a reference to Japan, South Korea and the United States.
Solid-fueled missiles can be launched more quickly than their liquid-fueled counterparts and are easier to move and conceal, which theoretically makes them harder to detect before launch.
According to KCNA, the Hwasong-16B flew for about 1,000 kilometers, reaching a peak altitude of 101 kilometers during the test.
Hypersonic missiles travel and maneuver at least five times faster than the speed of sound at low altitudes in the atmosphere, which makes them extremely difficult to track and intercept.
Meanwhile, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement that the launch probably focused on testing the missile’s flight performance in the early stage of development, an area in which North Korea appeared to have made partial progress.
North Korea “exaggerated” several specifications, from flight range to a delay in igniting the second-stage engine and quickly changing flight orbit, the JCS said.
The new live-fire test came less than two weeks after the North Korean leader supervised a solid-fuel engine test for an IRBM.
It’s worth noting that North Korea unveiled its first ever hypersonic missile, the Hwasong-8, back in 2021. Despite being liquid-fueled, the missile was a major breakthrough for Pyongyang.
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