North Korea announces that it has tested a hypersonic missile – franceinfo

North Korea has successfully tested a hypersonic glider missile, the official KCNA agency announced Wednesday (September 29th), which presented the test as a major technological advance. The success of this test is “of great strategic importance” as Pyongyang seeks to “multiply by a thousand” its defense capabilities, KCNA said. Hypersonic missiles are much faster than conventional ballistic or cruise missiles. They are also much more difficult to detect and intercept by missile defense systems, on which the United States spends billions of dollars.

The test, carried out on Tuesday from Jagang province in the north of the country, has “confirmed the control of navigation and stability of the missile” in the same way “the maneuverability of its guidance system and the glide characteristics of the detached hypersonic warhead”, KCNA said. “The test results proved that all technical specifications met the design requirements”, adds the press release.

The development of the hypersonic missile is one of the five tasks “priority” of the five-year plan for strategic weapons, according to KCNA. This plan presented in January by Kim Jong Un, who on this occasion erected the United States in “main enemy”, also provides for the development of a nuclear-powered submarine and intercontinental ballistic missiles. Lim Eul-chul, professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies, Pyongyang uses weapon development “as a way to create space for diplomatic maneuvers and also to strengthen its military posture”.