North Korea conducts second missile test in two days while Blinken visits region – this test was hypersonic, Pyongyang claims

Seoul, South Korea — north korea North Korea said on Tuesday that its latest weapons test was a new medium-range hypersonic missile designed to strike remote targets in the Pacific, as leader Kim Jong Un pledged to increase his array of nuclear-capable weapons to confront countries. Competition.

The North Korean state media report came a day after the South Korean military said it had spotted him North Korea fires a missile that flies 1,100 kilometers (685 miles) Before landing in the waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan. The launch came weeks before Donald Trump returns as President of the United States, after a busy year of weapons tests.

North Korea demonstrated multiple weapons systems last year that could target its neighbors and the United States, including solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missiles, and there are concerns that its military capabilities could be further advanced by technology transfers from Russia with the two countries’ alliance. War in Ukraine.

In recent years, North Korea has conducted air tests of various medium-range missiles that, if perfected, could reach the US military center on the island of Guam in the Pacific Ocean. In recent months, Pyongyang has tested combining these missiles with hypersonic warheads to improve their survivability.

Since 2021, North Korea has been testing various hypersonic weapons designed to fly at more than five times the speed of sound. The speed and maneuverability of these weapons are intended to withstand regional missile defense systems. However, it is unclear whether these missiles are constantly flying as fast as North Korea claims.

North Korean state media said that Kim supervised the launch of the missile on Monday and that the weapon traveled a distance of 1,500 kilometers (932 miles), during which it reached two different peaks of 99.8 kilometers (62 miles) and 42.5 kilometers (26.4 miles) and achieved a speed of up to 12 times the speed of the missile. . The speed of sound before hitting the marine target accurately.

Lee Sung-joon, spokesman for South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the South Korean military believes North Korea is exaggerating the system’s capabilities, saying the missile covered a shorter distance and that there was no second peak.

Lee said the test was likely a follow-up to another test of a medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile last April, and said it would be difficult to use such systems in a relatively small area like the Korean Peninsula. He added that the South Korean and American militaries are continuing to analyze the missile.

Kim described the missile as a crucial achievement in his goals of strengthening North Korea’s nuclear deterrence by building an arsenal “that no one can respond to,” according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

“The hypersonic missile system will reliably contain any competitors in the Pacific region that could affect the security of our nation,” the agency quoted Kim as saying.

Kim reiterated that his nuclear campaign aims to confront “various security threats posed by forces hostile to our state,” but KCNA did not mention any direct criticism of Washington, Seoul or Tokyo.

The launches took place while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Tokyo and Seoul for talks with allies Japan and South Korea on the North Korean nuclear threat and other issues.

In a news conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul on Monday, Blinken condemned North Korea’s missile launch, which violates UN Security Council resolutions against the North’s weapons programs. He also reiterated concerns about the growing alliance between North Korea and Russia in Moscow’s war on Ukraine. He described military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow as a “two-way street,” saying Russia is providing military equipment and training to the North and “intends to share space and satellite technology.”

According to US, Ukrainian and South Korean assessments, North Korea has sent more than 10,000 soldiers and conventional weapons systems to support Moscow’s war campaign. There are fears that Russia would transfer advanced weapons technology to North Korea in return, which could enhance the threat posed by Kim’s nuclear-armed army.

At a political conference held at the end of the year, Kim pledged to implement a “tougher” anti-American policy, and criticized the Biden administration’s efforts to strengthen security cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo, which he described as a “nuclear military bloc of aggression.”

North Korean state media did not outline Kim’s policy plans or mention any specific comments about Trump. During his first term as president, Trump met with Kim three times for talks on North Korea’s nuclear program.

Even when Trump returns to the White House, a rapid resumption of diplomacy with North Korea may be unlikely. Experts say Kim’s strengthened posture – built on his expanded nuclear arsenal, deepening alliance with Russia and weak enforcement of US international sanctions – presents new challenges to resolving the nuclear crisis.