Hypersonic missiles are generally defined as travelling more than five times the speed of sound, or Mach 5, but South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff have - unlike their normal practice - not yet announced the weapon’s maximum altitude and flight distance. There was no confirmation of the missile type from Seoul. The official Rodong Sinmun newspaper carried a picture of the weapon - with a set of guidance fins at the base of its nose cone - ascending into the morning sky. The launch was watched by top official Pak Jong Chon, it said, making no mention of leader Kim Jong Un. The launch from Jagang province “confirmed the navigational control and stability of the missile”, along with “guiding manoeuvrability and the gliding flight characteristics of the detached hypersonic gliding warhead” and the engine, according to KCNA, which called it the Hwasong-8. Hypersonic missiles move far faster and are more agile than standard ones, making them much harder for missile defence systems - on which the US is spending billions - to intercept. Tuesday’s launch was of “great strategic significance”, the official Korean Central News Agency said, as the North seeks to increase its defence capabilities a “thousand-fold”. SEOUL: North Korea has successfully tested a new hypersonic gliding missile, state media reported on Wednesday, in what would be the nuclear-armed nation’s latest advance in weapons technology.
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