North Korea appeared to test fire a ballistic missile on Tuesday that may be more capable than the “hypersonic missile” it launched less than a week earlier, South Korea’s military said, as Pyongyang pursues increasingly advanced weapons.
The launches underscored leader Kim Jong-un’s New Year vow to bolster the military with cutting-edge technology at a time when talks with South Korea and the US have stalled.
Initial estimates found Tuesday’s missile travelled more than 700km to a maximum altitude of 60km at a top speed up to 10 times the speed of sound (12,348kmph), South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement.
“We assess that this is more advanced than the missile North Korea fired on January 5, though South Korean and US intelligence authorities are conducting detailed analysis,” the JCS said. The suspected missile launch was detected around 2227 GMT on Monday from North Korea’s Jagang province towards the ocean off its east coast.
