North Korea successfully test-fired a medium-range solid-fuel ballistic missile with a hypersonic warhead on Sunday, Asian media reported.
The test was aimed at “verifying the gliding and maneuvering characteristics” of such a missile as well as “the reliability of newly developed multi-stage high-thrust solid-fuel engines,” North Korean media said on Monday.
Earlier, South Korea’s military claimed North Korea launched an intermediate-range ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan on Sunday. The missile was fired near Pyongyang and travelled about 1,000 kilometres before falling into the sea, the report said.
The Government of Japan confirmed that the projectile fell outside Japan’s exclusive economic zone. The country’s defence ministry stated that the missile flew a distance of at least 500 km at a maximum altitude of more than 50 km.
The hypersonic missile is designed to fly at five times the speed of sound along non-standard and low-altitude trajectories. According to the state media, North Korea’s missile department claimed that the latest test was part of its “regular activities for developing powerful weapon systems” and did not affect the security of any neighbouring country.
Pyongyang recently fired a barrage of artillery shells near the maritime border with South Korea, with Seoul responding by conducting military drills.
