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North Korea says it tested new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile with
hypersonic warhead
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East Asia


NORTH KOREA SAYS IT TESTED NEW SOLID-FUEL INTERMEDIATE-RANGE MISSILE WITH
HYPERSONIC WARHEAD

April 02, 2024 8:58 PM
 * By Associated Press

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


This picture taken on April 2, 2024 and released by North Korea's official
Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 3 shows the first test-fire of
Hwasongpho-16B, a new-type intermediate-range solid-fueled ballistic missile, in
Pyongyang's suburbs, in North Korea.
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SEOUL, South Korea — 

North Korea said Wednesday it tested another new hypersonic intermediate-range
missile powered with solid propellants as it continues to expand its nuclear and
missile program in the face of deepening tensions with neighbors and the United
States.

The report by North Korean state media came a day after the South Korean and
Japanese militaries detected the North launching the missile from an inland area
around its capital toward its eastern sea.

North Korean state media said the test was supervised by leader Kim Jong Un, who
described the missile – named Hwasong-16B – as a key piece of his nuclear war
deterrent, which he vowed to further build up to counter his "enemies," a
reference to the United States, South Korea and Japan.

Kim said the North has now developed nuclear-capable, solid-fuel systems for
"all the tactical, operational and strategic missiles with various ranges," the
Korean Central News Agency said.

In recent years, North Korea has been focusing on developing more weapons with
built-in solid propellants. Those weapons are easier to move and hide and can be
launched quicker than liquid-propellant missiles, which need to be fueled before
launch and cannot stay fueled for long periods of time.

Since 2021, the North has been testing hypersonic weapons designed to exceed
five times the speed of sound. If perfected, such systems could potentially pose
a challenge to regional missile defense systems because of their speed and
maneuverability.

However, it's unclear whether the North's hypersonic vehicles consistently
maintained a desired speed exceeding Mach 5 during tests in 2021 and 2022.
During Tuesday's test, the missile's hypersonic glide warhead, after being
separated from the launch rocket, reached a peak altitude of 101 kilometers (62
miles) and flew about 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) while performing various
flight maneuvers before landing in waters between the Korean Peninsula and
Japan, the KCNA said.

The South Korean and Japanese militaries had assessed that the missile flew
around 600 (372 miles) although Japan's Defense Ministry announced a similar
apogee with the North Korean report.

The North had also tested a purported hypersonic IRBM in January, which came
years after it flight-tested liquid-fuel IRBMs. Experts say such weapons if
perfected are potentially capable of reaching remote U.S. targets in the
Pacific, including the military hub of Guam.

While North Korea had initially tested its hypersonic warheads with liquid-fuel
systems, the ability to load them on solid-fuel rockets would allow for faster
launches and operation, said Chang Young-keun, a missile expert at South Korea's
Research Institute for National Strategy.

"North Korea, in declaring that it has fully accomplished the nuclear
weaponization of its missiles, also emphasized its commitment to arm its
hypersonic missiles with nuclear weapons," Chang said. "North Korea's
development of hypersonic IRBMs targets Guam, which hosts U.S. military bases,
and even Alaska."

Tensions in the region have risen since 2022 as Kim used Russia's invasion of
Ukraine as a distraction to accelerate his testing of missiles and other
weapons. The United States and South Korea have responded by expanding their
combined training and trilateral drills involving Japan and sharpening their
deterrence strategies built around strategic U.S. assets.

While supervising Tuesday's test, Kim called for his country to further expand
its nuclear and missile program to acquire "overwhelming power capable of
containing and controlling" his enemies, who have "recently run higher fever in
boosting their military alliance and staging all sorts of war drills."

Hours after the launch, Seoul's Defense Ministry announced that South Korea, the
United States and Japan conducted a combined aerial exercise above waters near
Jeju Island that involved at least one nuclear-capable U.S. B-52 bomber.

The United States in recent months has been increasing its deployment of
strategic assets to the region, also including aircraft carriers and
missile-firing submarines, in a show of force against North Korea.


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THE DAY IN PHOTOS

 * APRIL 25, 2024



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