Washington: North Korea’s supersonic missile is a threat to the region

A senior US envoy said Wednesday that North Korea’s test launch of a new hypersonic missile posed a threat to the region, but that it would not deter the US from moving forward on the diplomatic trail with Pyongyang.

During a virtual forum on US-Indonesia relations, Sung Kim, US ambassador in Indonesia and Washington Special Envoy in North Korea added that “cooperation between interested parties will continue” and that North Korea’s activities do not change the position of his country.

This comes as the North Korean central news agency reported today Wednesday that North Korea this week has been testing a new hypersonic missile, which makes it participate in a race led by major military powers to deploy this advanced weapons system.

North Korea’s Hwasong-8 supersonic missile launched

The South Korean military said on Tuesday that North Korea launched the missile off its east coast towards the sea, while calling on the United States and South Korea to abandon the “double standard”on weapons programs to resume diplomatic talks.

North Korea is developing its own armed systems in in the midst of interviews in deadlock aimed at dismantling its nuclear and missile arsenals in change of lifting of US sanctions.

Unlike ballistic missiles that fly into space before returning up very steep paths, supersonic weapons move towards targets at lower altitudes and can exceed five times the speed of sound, i.e. at speeds of approximately 6,200 kilometers per hour. .

Video transmission of an unidentified missile launch in North Korea (archive)

South Korea’s chiefs of staff said Wednesday that the North’s supersonic missile was still there in an initial development phase, according to the observed speed and other data, and that its deployment in combat action would take a “long time”.

For its part, the North Korean Central News Agency said that the development of the weapon system increases North Korea’s defense capabilities and described the hypersonic missile as a “strategic weapon”.

Northern leader Kim Jong-un did not witness the Hwasong-8 missile launch, the report said. “In the first test launch, the country’s defense experts confirmed the trajectory control and stability of the missile,” the report said.

This test it could mean that North Korea will enter in a fast-paced race to deploy this type of weapon, a race that now includes the United States, Russia and China.