North Korea test-fires new solid-fuel hypersonic missile

Ballistic missile, said to be solid-fuel and hypersonic, launches during a test at an unspecified location in North Korea in this picture released by the Korean Central News Agency on January 14, 2024. KCNA via REUTERS/file photo

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea said on Wednesday it successfully test-fired a new mid- to long-range solid-fuel hypersonic missile, North Korean newspaper Rodong Sinmun said.

North Korea fired a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile into the sea on Tuesday in a possible test of a new rocket using solid fuel, drawing swift condemnation from South Korea, Japan and the United States.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the launch, Rodong Sinmun said, and lauded it as a strategic weapon that demonstrates the “absolute superiority” of North Korea’s defense technology.

North Korea has “fully turned all tactical, operational, and strategic-grade missiles of different ranges into solid-fuel, with warhead control, and capable of nuclearization”, Kim said, according to Rodong Sinmun. — Reuters