North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the successful test of a hypersonic missile, state media reported Wednesday, the second such launch by the nuclear-armed nation in less than a week.
The missile carrying a “hypersonic gliding vehicle” hit “the set target in waters 1,000 km off,” the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
Photographs posted on the website of Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, showed Kim Jong Un wearing a long black leather coat and using binoculars to watch the missile blast off from his mobile viewing platform.
“The superior maneuverability of the hypersonic glide vehicle was more strikingly verified through the final test-fire,” the KCNA report said.
Other images in Rodong Sinmun showed the missile blasting off from land at dawn in a blaze of fire and smoke, and Kim discussing charts with uniformed officials.
This is the third reported North Korean test of a hypersonic gliding missile to date, following one in September 2021 and one last week, as the country looks to add the sophisticated weapon to its arsenal.
South Korea’s military said the Tuesday launch had reached hypersonic speeds and showed clear signs of “progress” from last week’s test.
