Suspected North Korean hypersonic missile exploded in flight, South Korea says
The HinduA suspected hypersonic missile launched by North Korea exploded in flight on Wednesday, South Korea’s military said, as North Korea protests the regional deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier for a military drill with South Korea and Japan. The North Korean missile was launched at about 5:30 a.m. and was aimed toward the North’s eastern waters before the failure, South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said. In a three-way phone call, senior diplomats from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan condemned the missile launch as a violation of U.N. resolutions and agreed to maintain close coordination in response to North Korean threats, according to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. North Korea has performed a series of hypersonic missile tests since 2021 in an apparent effort to acquire an ability to penetrate its rivals’ missile defense shields.