<Anchor>
The hypersonic missile that North Korea launched the other day (the 5th) seems to have improved performance compared to that launched in September last year. In particular, it is presumed that technological advances have been made due to the increased speed of the warhead.
Ahn Jung-sik, a reporter specializing in North Korea, reports.
<Reporter>
This is a scene of a hypersonic missile launched by North Korea.
It is similar to the missile launched in September last year, but the warhead part is more conical.
North Korea said the missile hit a target 700 km away through multiple stages of anomalous maneuvers.
It is argued that hypersonic missiles hit the target while reaching their peak and descending like a ballistic missile and flying along the surface again like a cruise missile.
However, it is known that the South Korean and US military authorities believe that the North Korean claim is different from the content of the detection.
A government source said that the missile's range was similar to that of September last year, around 450 km, only with a slightly higher altitude.
However, it is known that the speed of this missile has reached Mach 5 or higher, and it seems to have advanced technologically compared to last year, when it was around Mach 3.
[Shin Jong-woo / Expert Research Fellow, Korea Defense Security Forum: It is true that a hypersonic aircraft is difficult to intercept because it is so fast. (However, North Korea) is still in the early stages of development.]
The military said it was possible to respond.
[Kim Jun-rak/Director of Joint Chiefs of Staff: It is possible to respond (to North Korean hypersonic missiles), and our military response capabilities and posture are continuously being supplemented.]
Although North Korea has been steadily promoting strategic weapons development, it has been testing strategic weapons since the beginning of the year. It also seems to have a dimension of putting pressure on South Korea and the US.