SEOUL: North Korea’s latest weapons test was of a medium-to-long-range hypersonic missile, state media said on Wednesday (Apr 2), adding that leader Kim Jong Un was present for the launch.
“A new medium-to-long range hypersonic missile test launch that carries military strategic value was successfully carried out,” state media agency KCNA said a day after the test.
With the launch, Kim said the North had now “achieved strategic missiles that are of solid-fuel, warhead manoeuvrable and nuclear-capable”.
Seoul’s military said the missile, launched early on Tuesday, flew around 600km before splashing down in waters between South Korea and Japan. KNCA put the figure around 1,000km.
Pyongyang’s latest launch, of a Hwasong-16 missile, comes less than two weeks after Kim supervised a solid-fuel engine test for an intermediate-range hypersonic missile.
