North Korea claims it tested hypersonic missile to boost defence capabilities a ‘thousand-fold’
- Hypersonic missiles move far faster and are more agile than standard ones, making them much harder for missile defence systems to intercept
- But experts say Pyongyang’s technology is not comparable to the US, Russia or China and it may be ‘bluffing’ about the success of its weapons test
North Korea state media has claimed the missile test-fired on Tuesday was a newly-developed hypersonic missile, making it the nuclear-armed nation’s latest advance in weapons technology.
Tuesday’s launch was of “great strategic significance”, the official Korean Central News Agency said on Wednesday, as the North seeks to increase its defence capabilities a “thousand-fold”.
Unlike ballistic missiles that fly into outer space before returning on steep trajectories, hypersonic weapons fly towards targets at lower altitudes and can achieve more than five times the speed of sound – or about 6,200 kilometres per hour (3,853 miles per hour). Only the United States, Russia and China currently have hypersonic missiles.
But South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff on Wednesday said it assessed details of the detected speed of the missile and found that the weapon was still in an early stage of development. It would take a “considerable period of time” until it could be deployed in combat, they said.
Yang Uk, a defence analyst at the Korea Defence Forum, downplayed the announcement as “bluffing” aimed to impress South Korea and the US.
“There are daunting technological hurdles to overcome in developing hypersonic gliding vehicles, including the extreme temperatures of hypersonic speed and difficulties in controlling movements,” Yang said.
