Kim defends “military muscle” when watching hypersonic missile test | Kim Jong Un News

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un personally oversaw the successful test of a hypersonic missile and urged scientists to speed up efforts to build the country’s “military muscle,” state media reported on Wednesday.

It’s the first time Kim has been involved in a missile launch in almost two years.

Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Government Workers’ Party, sprinkled the presentation on his website with photos of Kim Jong Un wearing a long black leather coat and using binoculars to see the apparition. Other images showed a missile exploding in a cloud of smoke and Kim discussing boards with officials, including her sister, on a train.

“The increased maneuverability of the hypersonic vehicle was verified by the latest test fire,” the Korean Central News Agency official said, noting that the shot was fired at a missile that was tested last week.

Both Japan and South Korea reported they fired on Tuesday, saying they suspected it was a ballistic missile, banned by the United Nations.

Despite imposing international sanctions and worsening the economy, Kim has pushed for the modernization of the North Korean military and the adoption of more sophisticated weapons since taking power a decade ago.

In the northern five-year plan, hypersonic missiles were listed as one of the “top-priority” tasks of strategic weapons, and in September 2021 it conducted its first test — the Hwasong-8. Kim vowed to continue building the country’s defense. capabilities at a key meeting of the North Korean government party last month.

After watching the test, Kim called on military scientists to “continuously strengthen the country’s strategic military muscle and accelerate efforts to modernize the army further, in terms of quality and quantity,” the KCNA said.

Chad O’Carol, head of the North Korean-controlled Korea Risk Group, said Kim’s prominence was promising.

“It means that Kim is not worried about personally associating himself with the tests of major new technologies. And it doesn’t matter how the United States sees that,” he wrote on Twitter.

Kim hadn’t been pictured in a missile launch since March 2020.

“North Korea’s so-called hypersonic weapon is not ready to deploy technologically. But state media announced the latest test, personally overseen by Kim Jong-un, as a “final test” of a new military capability, “said Seif University professor Leif-Eric Easley in an e-mailed comment. claiming the success of an agenda item in an attempt to strengthen political legitimacy and increase diplomatic pressure. However, Pyongyang continues to grow its ability to threaten its neighbors, stressing the need for cooperation in US-South Korea-Japan missile defense and the need for greater responsibility in China and Russia to enforce UN sanctions.

He reminded that everything about this test is part of a new campaign of military modernization in North Korea. Kim is working on her wish list for the 8th Party Congress and is once again personally leading the tests.

– Ankit Panda (@nktpnd) January 11, 2022

Talks on denuclearization have stalled since the fall of the 2019 summit between Kim and then-US President Donald Trump, and Pyongyang has said the US and its allies must stop “hostile policies” such as sanctions or military exercises to restart diplomacy.

U.S. Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland called the shootings dangerous and unstable.

“It simply came to our notice then,” he said. “As you know, the United States has been saying since we joined this administration that we are open to dialogue with North Korea, that we are open to talking about COVID and humanitarian aid, and that they are firing missiles instead.”

Despite its name, analysts say it is the main concern hypersonic weapons It is not the speed at which traditional ballistic missile heads can sometimes match or exceed, but rather their maneuverability.

Photographs released by the state media showed the same type of missile and warhead they first tested it last week, analysts said.

After being released from the rocket launcher, the hypersonic glider made a 600 km (375 mile) “planet-jumping flight” and then performed a 240-kilometer “cork-pulling maneuver” before reaching a target at a distance of 1,000 km. according to the report.

On Tuesday, South Korea said the second test showed improved performance, with missiles speeding up to 10 times the speed of the sound (12,348 kilometers per hour or 7,673 kilometers per hour), although no opinion was given on maneuverability.

Russia, the United States, and China have said they have successfully tested hypersonic slip vehicles, and have seen Russia as the current leader in technology.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un says the state media says it was a test of a hypersonic missile. Analysts say it was a weapon that was first tested last week [KCNA via AFP]