North Korea launched a ballistic missile off its east coast on Tuesday, its second weapons test in a week, as the United Nations Security Council met to discuss the country’s growing missile threat.
With its latest launch, North Korea appeared to demonstrate progress in developing what it calls a hypersonic missile, the South Korean military said. The missile flew about 435 miles, traveling at up to Mach 10, or 10 times the speed of sound, it said.
It was not only the new missile’s speed that highlighted North Korea’s growing missile threat to the United States’ military and its allies in the region. The new missiles North Korea has tested in the past week also had a so-called maneuverable re-entry vehicle, or a warhead that can thwart missile defense systems by changing course in the atmosphere after it is detached from the booster rocket, South Korean defense officials said.
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