North Korea claims to have successfully launched a new hypersonic missile, raising concerns that the isolationist dictatorship is receiving subsidies from nuclear giants Iran, China, and Russia.
On Tuesday, the Hwasong-8 missile was launched into the sea, with state media praising the "strategic weapon's" role in boosting North Korea's national defense. The test launch is reported to have met a number of objectives, including "guiding maneuverability and the gliding flight characteristics of the detachable hypersonic gliding warhead."
Russia is often regarded as being in the forefront of hypersonic missile research, with the United States trailing behind. Russia tested the Tsirkon (Zircon) missile in July of this year. And according to the Kremlin, it achieved Mach 7 speeds - seven times faster than the speed of sound.
North Korea reveals new weapons
China is also said to be working on hypersonic weaponry, but Beijing has opted to focus on creating drones instead, as per Express.co. The communist dictatorship revealed the Dongfeng-17 (DF-17), a medium-range ballistic missile equipped with a DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle (GHV), in late 2019.
So far this year, North Korea has revealed three new weapons. North Korea launched a ballistic missile from a train as well as a submarine-launched warhead prior to the Hwasong-8 launch.
North Korea announced on Friday that it has tested a newly designed antiaircraft missile, the latest in a series of military tests in recent weeks while declaring openness to talks with the South.
The most recent launch tested a land-to-air missile with greater range, speed, and accuracy than previous rockets, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency on Friday.
The South Korean government has not officially commented on the North's missile test, and it did not disclose the launch when it occurred on Thursday. The South Korean military quickly notifies North Korean ballistic missile tests that violate United Nations resolutions.
However, it has frequently failed to do so when the North tests cruise missiles or other weapons deemed less dangerous, the NY Times reported. Analysts in South Korea said on Friday that based on a photo of the new missile provided by North Korean media, the weapon seemed to be one that the North had displayed at military parades last October and January.
Among the weapons on show during the parades was a new land-to-air missile fired from a truck equipped with four launch tubes. North Korea has complained bitterly in recent years about the United States' sales of sophisticated weapons, particularly F-35 fighter jets, to the South, claiming that they increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula and compelled the North to build its own war deterrent, including a nuclear arsenal.
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Kim Jong Un expects North Korea will be capable of nuclear attack against US
Thursday's test was the second of the week. The North announced on Wednesday that it has tested a hypersonic missile, a highly advanced weapon currently being researched by top military powers such as the United States and Russia.
North Korea conducted three intercontinental ballistic missile tests and its sixth underground nuclear test in 2017. By the end of the year, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un asserted that his country was capable of launching a nuclear attack on the mainland United States.
He then met with President Donald J. Trump three times in order to persuade the US to ease international sanctions placed on his country in exchange for a partial reduction of his nuclear weapons development.
The North's leader Kim Jong Un decried Washington's repeated offers of talks without preconditions as a "petty trick," accusing the Biden administration of continuing the a "hostile policy" of its predecessors.
Anti-aircraft missiles are considerably smaller and harder to detect from a distance than ballistic missiles, which the North Korea is prohibited from producing under United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Pyongyang is subject to various international sanctions for its nuclear programs, which have advanced rapidly under Kim, including missiles capable of hitting the whole US mainland and its most powerful nuclear test to yet.
Per Daily Mail, the most recent tests drew worldwide condemnation, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stating they increased the likelihood of instability and insecurity.
Related Article: North Korea Launches Short-Range Missile Into The Sea, Tells UN It Has The Right To Test Weapons
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