It included a test of a hypersonic missile, despite the skepticism of experts

North Korea announces tests of the world's most advanced weapons

  • Kim Jong-un did not directly observe the missile test to show that Pyongyang wants it to appear as part of the normal course of developing military defense systems.

    archival

  • In a speech to the Russian parliament in 2018, Putin described the Avangard missile system as practically “impervious” to Western defenses.

    archival

  • North Korea's supersonic missile test last Wednesday.

    archival

picture

North Korea says it tested a hypersonic missile last Wednesday, the second time the head of state, Kim Jong Un, has claimed to have tested such a weapon.

And if these allegations published by the North Korean media are true, and that the country has at some point been able to deploy a hypersonic weapon, this will have significant repercussions on the security situation in Asia.

But after the first allegation of testing such a weapon, and the second this week, analysts are skeptical.

"A hypersonic missile that can outlast missile defense systems would be a game-changer if it were fitted with nuclear warheads," said former Pentagon employee Drew Thompson, a visiting scholar at the School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. However, he added, warning, “But there are great doubts about that, as the desire to acquire these missiles and actually own them in a real way are two different things.”

After announcing the test of this weapon, last Wednesday, the director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejon Institute in South Korea, Cheong Seong-chang, said that more time and development is needed before Pyongyang is able to practically use this weapon.

"North Korea will need two or three test launches in the future, before completing its hypersonic missile," he added.

North Korea continues to claim that it is a victim of Western powers, and must develop a strong military to deter what it sees as potential aggression by its enemies, such as the United States and South Korea.

■ What is the supersonic missile?

■■ When talking about a supersonic missile, we are talking about its payload or the charge in the head of the missile, in this case, this charge is called a supersonic glide vehicle, and this vehicle can theoretically fly at 20 times the speed of sound, It can maneuver in flight, making it impossible to bring it down, experts say.

As in the case of ballistic missiles, gliding weapons can be launched by missiles high in the air, but while the heads of ballistic missiles are driven by the force of gravity when starting to land on their target from high, it may reach 1000 km, the supersonic weapons sink back to the ground , before it takes a horizontal trajectory above the surface of the earth by a few tens of kilometers, according to a report on supersonic weapons issued by the American Organization of Concerned Scientists, and then the weapon uses internal navigation devices to correct its trajectory and keeps it focused towards the target at a speed equivalent to 12 times the speed the sound.

■ Who owns hypersonic weapons?

■■ Only two countries possess supersonic missiles, in addition to America, are Russia and China. In December 2019, Russia announced that its Avangard missiles had entered service. In a speech to the Russian parliament in 2018, Russian President Vladimir Putin described the Avangard system as "impervious" to Western defenses. In January 2020, Putin oversaw the tests of the second hypersonic missile system, called "Kanzal", off the coast of Crimea. In November of the same year, Russia said that it had successfully tested the supersonic "Zircon" missile.

In August of the same year, China tested a missile carrying a hypersonic glide vehicle, according to the US military. "The Chinese launched a huge missile orbiting the Earth, and it threw a supersonic glide vehicle at a target inside China," then-US Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General John Hyton, told CBN News. What happened was a "routine spaceship experiment".

At a military parade in 2019, China demonstrated the DF-17 missile, which can carry a supersonic glide vehicle.

A report issued by the Missile Defense Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank in Washington, cited Defense Department officials, as saying that the DF-17 missile can carry a warhead, and it can hit its target with an error rate of no more than a few meters from the surface. After 2500 km.

According to a report issued last year by the Arms Control Association in Washington, DC, the United States is developing eight models of supersonic weapons.

The US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency said last fall that it had successfully tested a hypersonic weapon.

■ Can we believe North Korea?

■■ North Korea tested a missile, last Wednesday, and published a picture of the test, Thursday. The missile experts were unable to confirm what the Korean pictures showed.

"It cannot be confirmed that this vehicle carried by the missile was a type of supersonic vehicle or an ordinary warhead," said Joseph Dempsey, a researcher at the Institute for Strategic Studies.

The difference between a normal warhead and a supersonic vehicle is the latter's ability to take a horizontal flight path towards the target, and then rise and pounce on the target.

Professor Kim Dong-yub, professor of North Korean studies at Seoul University, said that North Korea has tested a warhead that can "move up and down several times, like a supersonic glide vehicle, avoiding collisions with mountains, flying north and right for a great distance, and reaching to the target accurately.

■ Why do you feel afraid?

■■ Researcher Dempsey said North Korea says its missile's maneuverability remains significant, and could present additional challenges to its anti-missile defense systems. Speaking after North Korea's test last September, Roderick Lee, director of research at the China Aerospace Institute at Air University, said that flying at a low altitude for a supersonic weapon means that it cannot be detected by radar for a longer period, which means that defense systems The missile will have less time to confront it and bring it down. "This would complicate the situation for defense systems," Lee added, and there are some opinions that this would make a first strike with supersonic weapons destabilizing and lethal. Analysts wrote a report by the US Congressional Research Services last November, saying, "Everyone thinks they want to start with the first strike, and quickly, to achieve the goal."This dynamic is often referred to as "the instability of the crisis", which can incite the start of any conflict by the parties to the crisis, during the race for the first strike, even without planning.

■ What will happen?

“Instead of expressing a willingness to hold disarmament talks or an interest in declaring an end to the war, North Korea is making clear that neither the Omicron strain nor the local food shortage will stop,” said Leif Eric Easley, professor of global studies at Oha Womans University in Seoul. offensive weapons development.

Xiong said the fact that the North Korean leader did not directly observe Wednesday's missile test shows that Pyongyang wants to show it as a normal thing to develop military defense systems.

"This missile test is part of a five-year development plan," said Park Wan-gun, professor of North Korean studies at Oha Womans University.

• Only two countries have supersonic missiles, in addition to America, they are Russia and China.

In December 2019, Russia announced that its missiles had entered service.

• North Korea continues to claim that it is a victim of Western powers, and must develop a strong army to deter what it sees as possible aggression by its enemies, such as the United States and South Korea.

Brad Lennon and Youngjang Seo ■ CNN reporters

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news