North Korea Tests New Weapon as Kim Hails War Readiness

North Korea announced the successful test of a new weapon showcasing “ultra-modern defence technology”, with leader Kim Jong Un overseeing Sunday’s launch and praising the country’s progress in strengthening its combat readiness.

According to the state-run KCNA news agency, Kim said the enemy would understand the significance of the development even without an explanation. He added that it would give the enemy “an incurable headache” and “a very cruel and unavoidable blow”.

The agency did not specify the type of weapon tested. Photographs released by KCNA showed Kim with his teenage daughter standing in front of a screen displaying a map of the country’s east coast and the flight trajectory of the Hwasongpho-11-ma-1, which is likely part of a series of short-range ballistic missiles being upgraded by Pyongyang.

The Seoul-based specialist website NK News said the projectile appeared to be an upgraded variant of a missile equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle. Such a warhead can maneuver to evade missile defense systems and potentially be launched partially into orbit.

South Korea’s military said on Sunday that North Korea had fired two short-range ballistic missiles off its east coast.

The test came days after Pyongyang accused the US of raising tensions on the Korean Peninsula through a series of military exercises. On Monday, the foreign ministers of South Korea, Japan and the United States agreed to coordinate closely on peace, stability and denuclearisation on the Korean Peninsula.

(Reuters, bak)