North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on January 6 oversaw a successful test of a new medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile.
The state-run KCNA news agency reported that this was the first missile launch by North Korea since November 5, 2025, and coincided with a visit by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to South Korea. During the visit, Mr. Blinken is expected to discuss bilateral and bilateral cooperation commitments between the US, Japan and South Korea to respond to the growing military threats from Pyongyang.
North Korea tested a new medium-range hypersonic ballistic missile at an undisclosed location on January 6, 2025.
The test comes less than two weeks before US President-elect Donald Trump, who held unprecedented summits with Mr Kim during his first term and has praised their personal relationship, takes office.
KCNA said the missile was fired from the outskirts of Pyongyang and flew about 1,500 km at a speed 12 times the speed of sound and reached a maximum altitude of nearly 100 km before landing accurately at its target off the east coast.
The new carbon fiber composite material has been used in rocket engines and it can "effectively penetrate any dense defense barrier and deal a serious military blow to the enemy," according to KCNA.
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North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has hailed the missile as a powerful weapon to counter security threats from hostile forces amid the complex and changing regional security environment. "The development of the new hypersonic missile is mainly aimed at raising the country's nuclear deterrence to a new level by changing the means and form of warfare and the weapon system that no one can respond to, into a key to strategic deterrence," Kim stressed.
The South Korean military said on January 6 that a suspected IRBM flew more than 1,100 km east before falling into the sea.
US Secretary of State Blinken, along with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, condemned the latest launch, warning of deepening ties between Pyongyang and Moscow – including cooperation on space and satellite technology.
North Korea is developing a new solid-fueled, hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), Reuters reported. In 2024, North Korea conducted tests using a new solid-fuel design and carrying what Pyongyang calls a hypersonic glide vehicle — a warhead designed to maneuver and evade missile defense systems.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/trieu-tien-thu-nghiem-thanh-cong-ten-lua-sieu-thanh-dung-vat-lieu-moi-185250107063709363.htm
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