North Korea claims another successful test of its hypersonic glide missile tech

Seoul, South Korea CNN —

North Korea on Monday claimed to have again tested a missile that could become one of the world’s fastest and most accurate weapons – with the potential to ultimately be fitted with a nuclear warhead.

Kim Jong Un’s regime successfully tested a hypersonic glide vehicle that was fired aloft using solid-fueled engines on Sunday, the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said, marking the fourth such test claimed by Pyongyang and the first with a potentially game-changing method of propulsion.

The test was aimed at “verifying the gliding and maneuvering characteristics of intermediate-range hypersonic maneuverable controlled warhead and the reliability of newly developed multi-stage high-thrust solid-fuel engines,” KCNA said.

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said the missile flew about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) before landing in the waters off the east coast of the Korean Peninsula on Sunday afternoon.

The launch was a clear provocation that “seriously threatens the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula,” JCS said.

Missiles with hypersonic glide vehicles can theoretically fly at many multiples of the speed of sound and can be very maneuverable in flight, making them almost impossible to shoot down, according to experts.

North Korea claims a successful solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), equipped with a hypersonic maneuvering combat unit, was conducted.

North Korea first tested a hypersonic missile on September 28, 2021, followed by two further tests in early January 2022. But Sunday’s test showed a jump in North Korean technology, according to the South Korean military.

“The ones tested in 2022 were launched using liquid fuel. This time, the