North Korea announced on January 5th that it conducted a hypersonic missile launch exercise on the 4th, observed by Chairman Kim Jong-un. According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the missile launched from Pyongyang’s Yeokpo District struck targets set at a 1,000 km boundary in the East Sea. Kim Jong-un, who observed the exercise, stated that demonstrating the constant deployability and lethality of strategic attack means to adversaries is crucial and effective for war deterrence, emphasizing that their activities are clearly aimed at progressively enhancing nuclear war deterrence.
KCNA did not specify what ‘international events’ Kim referred to, but it is believed to allude to the U.S. airstrike on Venezuela and the attempts to arrest President Nicolás Maduro. Kim also highlighted that essential national defense technological tasks were accomplished through the day’s missile launch, asserting the missile troops demonstrated readiness and inspired confidence in the Republic’s nuclear forces.
He further mentioned recent achievements in actualizing nuclear power and credited these to the defense construction policy and the defense science and technology-centric strategy of their party. He called for continued updates to military means, especially offensive weapon systems.
The purpose of the latest drill was reported to be evaluating the readiness of the hypersonic weapon system, verifying the execution capabilities of missile troops, and assessing the operational sustainability, effectiveness, and mobility of North Korea’s war deterrent capabilities. Details on the specific model or specifications of the ‘hypersonic missile’ were not disclosed, but based on its range and flight trajectory, it is speculated to be a KN-23 launcher equipped with a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) warhead named ‘Hwasong-11ma’. During the exercise, Kim Jong-sik, the Vice Minister of the Munitions Industry, and Jang Chang-ha, the Director of the Missile General Bureau, accompanied Kim Jong-un.