North Korea asserts progress in creating a hypersonic missile aimed at far-off US targets

NEW DELHI: State media in North Korea said on Wednesday that the country has successfully tested a solid-fuel engine for its next intermediate-range hypersonic missile. This development is a step forward in the nation’s ambitions to create a more powerful and manoeuvrable missile that can target far-off US facilities in the area. The leader of North Korea, Kim Jong Un, had promised in 2021 to deploy cutting-edge weaponry, including hypersonic missiles, in retaliation for what he saw as growing US aggression.

According to the Korean Central News Agency, Kim personally supervised the multi-stage solid-fuel engine ground test for the hypersonic missile at a rocket launch pad in the northwest of the country. He said that the new missile, which has an intermediate range, is as significant strategically as intercontinental ballistic missiles that are directed against the US mainland.
Experts believe that Guam, a US Pacific island with US military facilities, is the primary objective of North Korea’s development of intermediate-range missiles. If their range is altered, these missiles have the ability to reach Alaska and might endanger US military facilities on the island of Okinawa in Japan.
North Korea has been concentrating on creating weapons with solid propellants recently, which makes their launches harder to detect than those of missiles with liquid propellants. Although it’s unclear whether these hypersonic vehicles would prove to be successful in testing, the nation is interested in developing hypersonic weapons to counter US and South Korean missile defence systems.
North Korea claimed to have conducted flight testing of a new solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile with a hypersonic, manoeuvrable warhead earlier in January. North Korea’s attempts to increase the missile’s flight speed are evident in this latest engine test, which is said to be connected to the development of the missile’s second-stage rocket.
Tensions in the area have increased as a result of many missile test launches, including the most recent live-fire exercise utilising “super-large” multiple rocket launchers. There are worries about regional security as a result of repeated ballistic missile launches by North Korea that have been detected by South Korea, the US, and Japan. North Korea’s continuous missile launches are seen as provocative measures ahead of this year’s US presidential election.
Speculators predict that North Korea will test more missiles in the next few months, which will force the US and its allies to step up their military preparations and drills in reaction to the worsening circumstances. Because of the ongoing high level of tension in the area, the international community continues to carefully watch North Korea’s activities.