Pyongyang claims it fired hypersonic missile

This photo carried on North Korea's Korean Central News Agency shows what North Korea claims to be a new hypersonic missile launched from Toyang-ri, Ryongrim County, Jagang Province, North Korea, Tuesday. AP-Yonhap

Cheong Wa Dae remains neutral on Tuesday's missile launch

By Nam Hyun-woo

North Korea claimed Wednesday that the missile it launched a day earlier was a new, self-developed hypersonic one, in what is believed to be a move to test Seoul's reaction and gain leverage prior to a possible inter-Korean summit and denuclearization talks with U.S.

Its state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that Pyongyang's Academy of Defense Science had test-fired the hypersonic missile, dubbed Hwasong-8, from Jagang Province.

“In the first test-launch, national defense scientists confirmed the navigational control and stability of the missile in the active section and also its technical specifications including the guiding maneuverability and the gliding flight characteristics of the detached hypersonic gliding warhead,” the KCNA said.

The report added that the academy “also ascertained the stability of the engine as well as of the missile fuel ampoule that has been introduced for the first time.” However, the KCNA did not state whether it was a ballistic missile nor any other details. Reportedly, the South Korean military assumes that it flew less than 200 kilometers.

The report came after private experts' analysis that the North might have tested a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) launched from a ballistic missile.

“North Korea claims it developed a hypersonic missile, but it appears to be an HGV launched from a ballistic missile, not a hypersonic cruise missile (HCM),” said Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies. “Given the North dropped a hint that it will develop hypersonic glide technology in January, it seems that the warhead can fly at hypersonic speed. Also, North Korea said the missile was named the Hwasong-8, and the Hwasong series has historically been ballistic missiles powered by a liquid-fuel engine.”

In recent years, military powerhouses such as the U.S., China and Russia, have been developing hypersonic missiles, which are capable of traveling at more than five times the speed of sound, thus making them difficult to intercept.

There are two primary categories of hypersonic missiles ― HGVs and HCMs. While HGVs are launched from a ballistic missile before gliding to their target, HCMs are powered by high-speed ram-jets to a pre-programmed target, according to a U.S. Congressional Research Service report.

Since hypersonic missiles do not follow a ballistic trajectory and can maneuver towards their target, they are regarded as having a combination of the advantages of ballistic missile ― which can carry heavier warheads ― and cruise missiles ― which are difficult to detect and intercept. According to the report, Russia has already deployed the Avangard, a hypersonic glide vehicle launched from an intercontinental ballistic missile, while the U.S. earlier this week successfully tested a hypersonic cruise missile.

“An HGV poses a greater threat than an HCM, because the trajectory of the gliding vehicle becomes almost impossible to predict after it is launched from its ballistic missile,” said Shin In-kyun, a defense analyst and an affiliated professor at Kyonggi University Graduate School of North Korean Studies.

Along with the missile itself, experts said North Korea's mentioning of “ampoule” (KCNA terminology) is also noteworthy. This “ampoule” appears to be referring to a sealed liquid fuel tank. A liquid-fueled missile has a reduced preparation time prior to launch, and can under appropriate circumstances be kept in an advance state of readiness.

Shin said North Korea's alleged hypersonic missile technology appears to be at in its early stages because the Hwasong-8 flew less than 200 kilometers at a speed of less than Mach 2.5, but he expects the North will continue efforts to upgrade its technology to a level where actual deployment is possible.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said Wednesday: “We believe the missile which North Korea claimed was hypersonic appears to be at an early level of development, and it will be a long time before it is deployed,” adding, “it can be detected and intercepted with the current military assets of South Korea and the U.S.”

The North's announcement is interpreted as a test to see whether South Korea and the U.S. will recognize its missile programs as its "right to test weapons,” which is one of the demands that North Korea has been making recently as a precondition to engage in talks for an official end to the Korean War declaration and denuclearization.

While showing a positive response to President Moon's proposal to declare a formal end to the war, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korea leader Kim Jong-un, demanded Seoul and Washington withdraw their “double dealing standards.”

The rhetoric is assumed to be targeting South Korea's test of a locally developed submarine-launched ballistic missile, Sept. 15. When North Korea launched a ballistic missile from a train the same day, Seoul defined this move as a “provocation.”

Since then, Moon hasn't used the term provocation, specifically to describe Tuesday's launch, which is interpreted as a tactic to maintain his “peace momentum.”

Cheong Wa Dae kept a neutral stance over the missile launch, Wednesday. Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, said in a radio interview, “We cannot prejudge anything for now,” and, “we should focus on finding out North Korea's intention precisely through a thorough analysis.”