DPRK announces successful test of hypersonic missiles under Kim Jong-un's leadership
The missile unit of the DPRK army conducted a hypersonic missile launch exercise on 4 January. The launches were personally supervised by the country's leader Kim Jong Un, the state news agency KCNA reported.
According to official information, the exercise was aimed at assessing the effectiveness and mobility of the deterrence forces, as well as testing the combat capability of the hypersonic missile system. The missiles were launched from an area near Pyongyang in a northeasterly direction, travelled about 1,000 kilometres and hit targets in the Sea of Japan. The number of launches and technical characteristics of the weapons were not disclosed.
Kim Jong-un said that the exercise allows us to talk about the fulfilment of an important defence technical task and demonstrates the readiness of the country's nuclear forces. He also emphasised the need to continuously improve offensive weapons systems, attributing this to the tense international situation and geopolitical crises.
