N.Korea says leader Kim attended ‘successful’ hypersonic missile test

FILE PHOTO: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un speaks during the Eighth Conference of Military Educationists of the Korean People’s Army at the April 25 House of Culture in Pyongyang, North Korea in this undated photo released on December 7, 2021. KCNA via REUTERS

SEOUL — North Korean state media said on Wednesday that the country has conducted a successful test of a hypersonic missile, state media reported, with leader Kim Jong Un attending the launch for the first time in more than a year.

On Tuesday authorities in South Korea and Japan detected the suspected launch, which drew condemnation by authorities in Washington and Tokyo and prompted an expression of concern from the U.N. secretary-general.

The second test in less than a week underscored Kim’s New Year’s vow to bolster the military with cutting-edge technology at a time when talks with South Korea and the United States have stalled.

It was the first time since March 2020 that Kim had officially attended a missile test.

“His presence here would suggest particular attention on this programme,” Ankit Panda, a senior fellow at the U.S.-based Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, posted on Twitter.

Unlike some other recent tests, ruling party newspaper Rodong Sinmun published photos of Kim attending the launch on its front page.

“While Kim probably unofficially attended other tests in the interim, this appearance and its Page One feature on Rodong Sinmun is important,” said Chad O’Carroll, chief executive of Korea Risk Group, which monitors North Korea. “It means Kim is not concerned about being personally associated (with) tests of major new tech. And doesn’t care how the U.S. sees this.”

U.N. Security Council resolutions ban all North Korean ballistic missile and nuclear tests and have imposed sanctions over the programs.

Talks aimed at persuading North Korea to surrender or limit its arsenal of nuclear weapons and missiles have been stalled, with Pyongyang saying it is open to diplomacy but only if the United States and its allies stop “hostile policies” such as sanctions or military drills.

Photos released by state media appeared to show the same type of missile and warhead that was first tested last week, analysts said.

“The test-fire was aimed at the final verification of overall technical specifications of the developed hypersonic weapon system,” state news agency KCNA reported.

After its release from the rocket booster, a hypersonic glide vehicle made a 600-km “glide jump flight” and then a 240- km “sea in waters” 1,000 km away, the report said.

South Korean officials had questioned the capabilities of the missile after the first test last week, saying it did not appear to demonstrate the range and maneuverability claimed in a state media report and featured a maneuverable warhead rather than an actual glide vehicle.

On Tuesday, however, South Korea said the second test appeared to show improved performance, with the missile reaching top speeds up to 10 times the speed of sound (12,348 km per hour / 7,673 miles per hour), though they did not comment on its maneuverability.

“The superior maneuverability of the hypersonic glide vehicle was more strikingly verified through the final test-fire,” KCNA said.

Kim urged military scientists to “further accelerate the efforts to steadily build up the country’s strategic military muscle both in quality and quantity and further modernize the army,” KCNA added.