The North Korean authorities confirmed this Wednesday the launch of a hypersonic missile into the Sea of Japan the day before and that it was also monitored by the country’s leader, Kim Jong Unin the context of steadily increasing tension on the Korean peninsula in recent months.
He ‘Hwasongpho-16-Na’ It’s a new kind of Medium-range hypersonic missile with Solid fuel that managed to cover a flight of 1,000 kilometers and reach an altitude of 101.1 kilometers, North Korea’s state agency KCNA published.
This new projectile uses a solid rocket booster and is equipped with a wedge-shaped hypersonic boost glide vehicle. The 14-wheeled transport also features a protective canopy at the front that protects the vehicle from skidding and gives it a somewhat sinister appearance, admits military expert Thomas Newdick in The WarZone.
The test launch took place from a location outside the North Korean capital Pyongyang that has been used in the past. As usual, the country’s leader was present, Kim Jong Un, as well as other senior officials.
Kim “proudly” celebrated the success of the test and demonstrated the “absolute advantage” of North Korean technology. which has succeeded in making all of its solid-fuel rockets nuclear-capable. This new test arrives the same week Pyongyang has expected to launch “several” spy satellites into orbit this year.
In recent weeks North Korea has fired numerous “strategic” missiles towards the Yellow Sea and the Sea of Japan – also called the East Sea -, at the same time it has suspended the various mechanisms of cooperation with South Korea, a country from which it has withdrawn the label of “Partner for Reconciliation and Reunification”, considering it one of its greatest enemies. together with the United States.
The US reaction
In response to this press release Fighter aircraft from Japan, South Korea and the USA conducted air maneuvers joint operations involving at least one American strategic bomber. According to the South Korean Defense Ministry, these maneuvers are intended to improve the ability to “deter and respond to North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile threats.” During the exercises at least one American B-52 took part – strategic bomber with the ability to carry and fire nuclear weapons – as well as American F-16 fighters, South Korean F15s and Japanese F-2s.