Kim Jong Un warned that North Korea’s rivals could not ignore its new hypersonic ballistic missile, which was tested while US secretary of state Antony Blinken was visiting South Korea on Monday.
He said the new missile system would “reliably contain any rivals in the Pacific region” without naming chief rival, America, or neighbours South Korea and Japan.
The missile was fired from a suburb in the capital Pyongyang and flew 1500km at about 12 times the speed of sound, the Korean Central News Agency reported on Tuesday. It attained two different peaks of 99.8km and 42.5km before striking a sea target.
South Korean and Japanese military forces had confirmed the launch soon after the missile splashed down in the Sea of Japan.
The range of the intermediate missile was enough to hit American military bases in Guam, the agency noted.
“The performance of our latest intermediate hypersonic missile system cannot be ignored worldwide, and the system can deal a serious military strike to a rival while effectively breaking any dense defensive barrier,” Mr Kim, who oversaw the test through a monitoring system, said.
“This is a clear achievement and a special event in strengthening the self-defensive capabilities of which we should be proud.”
The missile’s engine reportedly used a new compound of carbon fibre, a significant technological development for Pyongyang if confirmed.
Carbon fibre is lighter and stronger than other aerospace materials such as aluminium, but far more difficult to manufacture.
North Korea’s first missile launch of 2025 coincided with Mr Blinken’s visit to Seoul, where he pledged bilateral and trilateral cooperation, including Japan, to respond to Pyongyang’s growing military threats.
“Today’s launch is just a reminder to all of us of how important our collaborative work is,” the secretary said, condemning the launch.
Following North Korea’s confirmation of the launch, a South Korean military spokesperson raised doubts over the hypersonic missile’s capabilities and suspected Russia’s assistance in developing the weapons system with carbon fibre technology.
Lee Sung Joon, a spokesperson for South Korea‘s Joint Chiefs of Staff, said they believed the North was exaggerating the capabilities of the system. He claimed the missile covered less distance than claimed, and that there was no second peak.
Mr Lee said the test was likely a follow-up to a intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile test last April and claimed that it would be difficult to use such systems in a relatively small territory like the Korean Peninsula.
