North Korea touts hypersonic missile as ‘incurable headache’ for enemies

North Korea claimed that the missile it fired into the East Sea on Sunday was a new hypersonic short-range ballistic missile (SRBM), a type of weaponry that is difficult to detect and intercept and could significantly increase the burden on Korean and U.S. missile defense systems.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said the test proves Pyongyang has acquired the relevant technology, and that the development would become an “incurable headache” for its enemies, according to a report by the Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) on Tuesday.

KCNA reported that the "Missile Administration of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea successfully tested a new-type weapon, which is of great significance in the rapid technological development of weapon systems, on Sept. 20."

While the newspaper did not specify the weapon system’s name or specifications, it released images of what appeared to be an SRBM fitted with a hypersonic glide vehicle.

The words “Hwasongpho-11Ma-1 flight trajectory” could be seen on a monitor at the test site. Flight data displayed at the top of the screen showed a flight time of 446.1 seconds, a speed of 2,146 meters per second (4,800 miles per hour), an altitude of 35.8 kilometers (22.2 miles) and a distance of 908.2 kilometers. The screen appears to have been captured at around 6:04:10 p.m.

The 908.2-kilometer distance disclosed by North Korea differs considerably from the flight distances announced by Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS).

Pyongyang fired one SRBM from the Wonsan region toward the East Sea at around 3 p.m. on Sunday, followed by another approximately three hours later, according to the JCS. The missiles traveled approximately 450 kilometers and more than 600 kilometers, respectively. The possibility that North Korea displayed inaccurate figures on the telemetry monitor to claim a successful missile test cannot be ruled out.

Kim said, "To acquire such a technology is of weighty significance in the state's readiness for war and the future development of the armed forces" and that "the enemy will know better what such progress means without any explanation in the aspect of military technology," according to the KCNA report.

Photos released by North Korea also showed Kim’s daughter Kim Ju-ae accompanying him, wearing a white jacket and black pants similar to her father’s attire.

Experts analyzed the weapon fired in the test as a hypersonic SRBM.

“North Korea even disclosed the test results, including the range and warhead altitude, to demonstrate its low-altitude gliding capabilities,” said Shin Jong-woo, secretary general of the Korea Defense and Security Forum. “With the projectile’s wings appearing somewhat longer, it seems to have improved its ability to pull up and glide at low altitudes.”

This marks the third time North Korea has unveiled a hypersonic SRBM test, following tests in October last year and January.

Hypersonic weapons generally maintain speeds of at least Mach 5 while gliding and maneuvering unpredictably at lower altitudes than conventional ballistic missiles, making their flight paths difficult to predict and the weapons harder to intercept. They can also perform irregular maneuvers such as a “pull-up,” in which the weapon rises again during its descent.

The Hwasong-11Ma series unveiled in the latest test is believed to combine a KN-23-series projectile, dubbed the “North Korean Iskander,” with a warhead shaped like a hypersonic glide vehicle.

BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO [[email protected]]