Daily Times

Seoul: North Korea’s leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the successful test of a hypersonic missile, state media reported Wednesday, the second such launch by the nuclear-armed nation in less than a week.

The missile carrying a “hypersonic gliding vehicle” hit “the set target in waters 1,000 km” away, the official Korea Central News Agency (KCNA) said.

Photographs posted on the website of Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, showed Kim Jong Un wearing a long black leather coat and using binoculars to watch the test from his mobile viewing platform.

“The superior manoeuverability of the hypersonic glide vehicle was more strikingly verified through the final test-fire,” the KCNA report said.

Other images in Rodong Sinmun showed the missile blasting off from land at dawn in a blaze of fire and smoke, and Kim discussing charts withuniformed officials.

This is the third reported North Korean test of a hypersonic gliding missile. The first, which took place four months ago, was followed by one last week, as the country looks to add the sophisticated weapon to its arsenal.

South Korea’s military said the missile launched on Tuesday had reached hypersonic speeds and showed clear signs of “progress” from last week’s test.

The missile flew 700 kilometres (435 miles) at an altitude of about 60 kilometres (37 miles) at Mach 10 speed, Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staffsaid.

Hypersonic missiles travel at speeds of Mach 5 and higher and can manoeuvre mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.

The KCNA report said the hypersonic glide vehicle performed “corkscrew manoeuvering” during a portion of the journey.

Russia, the United States and China have reported successfully testing hypersonic glide vehicles.