South Korean military officials cast doubts on Friday on the capabilities of what North Korea called a “hypersonic missile” test fired this week, saying it appeared to represent limited progress over Pyongyang’s existing ballistic missiles.
On Wednesday, North Korea launched what its state media said was the country’s second hypersonic missile, which are usually defined as weapons that reach speeds of at least five times the speed of sound – or about 6,200 kms per hour (3,850 mph) – and can manoeuvre at relatively low trajectories, making them much harder to detect and intercept.
While the missile’s warhead appeared to reach hypersonic speeds, that capability is shared by other ballistic missiles and Wednesday’s test did not appear to demonstrate the range and manoeuvrability claimed in state media reports, a South Korean military official told reporters.