North Korea is testing hypersonic missiles. How do they work?
The HinduNorth Korea said on Monday it had tested a new solid-fuel hypersonic missile with intermediate range, amid an intensifying race for the next generation of long-range rockets that are difficult to detect and intercept. North Korea’s first hypersonic missile test in 2021 featured a glider-shaped warhead, while a 2022 launch used what South Korean military officials and analysts said was actually a conical manoeuvrable reentry vehicle, or a ballistic missile warhead capable of manoeuvring to hit a target. North Korea’s hypersonic goal At a key ruling Workers’ Party meeting in January 2021, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un singled out securing hypersonic weapons as one of five main tasks under a five-year plan to boost military power, alongside developing solid-fuel ICBMs and a nuclear submarine. North Korea fired its first hypersonic missile in September 2021, calling it a “strategic weapon” designed to bolster its defence capabilities, though some South Korean analysts described the test as a failure. “North Korea appears to be trying to develop hypersonic missiles and intermediate range ballistic missiles based on solid propellant rocket boosters,” said Chang Young-keun, a professor at Korea Aerospace University.