Media: North Korea's missile launch could be hypersonic

On January 6, North Korea launched a suspected hypersonic missile into the East Sea, marking its first provocation of the year ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) reported detecting the launch of a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) around noon from the Pyongyang area. The missile travelled approximately 1,100 kilometres before landing in the sea, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

While the missile's flight distance was shorter than the typical IRBM range of 3,000 to 5,500 km, it is thought to be similar to North Korea's IRBMs equipped with hypersonic warheads that were launched in January and April of the previous year. Hypersonic missiles are more challenging to intercept than traditional ballistic missiles due to their ability to change course mid-flight. If confirmed as a hypersonic missile, this launch would represent the longest distance covered by such a missile from North Korea.

The missile is also believed to have the theoretical capacity to strike US military bases in Guam, located about 3,400 km from Pyongyang, if fired at full range. The launch occurred during US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's visit to Seoul, where he was in discussions about strategies to counter North Korean threats amid political instability in South Korea following President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law attempt. South Korean officials have expressed concerns that North Korea may exploit the political crisis to escalate military actions and heighten cross-border tensions. 

The launch has sparked speculation that it may have been intended to assess the readiness of the South Korean military in the wake of President Yoon's brief martial law declaration on December 3 and his subsequent impeachment.

"Under a firm South Korea-US combined defense posture, our military will closely monitor various North Korean activities so that it does not misjudge the current security situation," the JCS said, while denouncing the launch as a "clear provocation." North Korea's latest display of military force came just two weeks before Donald Trump's inauguration on January 20, following a two-month pause in missile launches.

The US military bases are located on the island of Guam, approximately 3,400 km from Pyongyang. On January 6, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken held talks with Acting President of South Korea Choi Sang-mok and Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul. The sides condemned North Korea's missile launch and exchanged views on Pyongyang's foreign policy.

By Naila Huseynova