Why is North Korea testing hypersonic missiles and how do they work?

SEOUL — North Korea has tested a new solid-fuel hypersonic missile with intermediate range, it said on Wednesday (April 3), in an intensifying race for the next generation of long-range rockets hard to track and intercept.

The US, China, Russia and other countries have also been developing hypersonic weapons in recent years.

How do the missiles work?

The warheads they launch typically travel at more than five times the speed of sound or about 6,200 kph (3,850 mph), often at relatively low altitudes.

Despite their name, analysts say the main feature of hypersonic weapons is not speed — which can sometimes be matched or exceeded by traditional ballistic missile warheads — but manoeuvrability.

North Korea's first hypersonic missile test in 2021 featured a glider-shaped warhead, while a 2022 launch used what South Korean military officials and analysts said was actually a conical manoeuvrable reentry vehicle (MaRV), or a ballistic missile warhead capable of manoeuvring to hit a target.

State media said the North's latest test was aimed at perfecting an arsenal for "rapidly, accurately and powerfully striking any target in the enemy side worldwide".

Combining a glide vehicle with a missile that can launch it partially into orbit — a so-called fractional orbital bombardment system (FOBS) — could further strip adversaries of reaction time and traditional defence mechanisms.

Intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), by contrast, carry nuclear warheads on ballistic trajectories that travel into space but never reach orbit.

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Who leads the race?

In February Russia for the first time fired its Zircon hypersonic cruise missile against Ukraine, researchers said. President Vladimir Putin has touted the weapon as part