NKorea Claims New Intermediate-Range Hypersonic Missile Will Deter Rivals

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Facts

  • North Korea's state media reported on Tuesday that the leader Kim Jong Un said that a newly tested hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) will "reliably contain any enemies" in the Pacific region.[1][2]
  • This comes as Pyongyang claims to have successfully test-fired its new system on Monday, with the missile allegedly flying 1.5K kilometers (932 miles) northeast at 12 times the speed of sound and reaching two different peaks of 99.8 kilometers (65 miles) and 42.5 kilometers (26.4 miles).[1][3]
  • Meanwhile, officials in the South consider that such a claim is very likely to be a deception in a bid to demonstrate capabilities to the US, as the flight range analyzed was about 1.1K kilometers (684 miles), and the weapon may have failed to reach a second peak.[4][5]
  • A second peak would indicate that, in line with claims from Pyongyang, the missile has the ability to change course and maintain altitude. Anywhere in Japan and the US territory of Guam could be within the range of an IRBM fired from North Korea.[2][6]
  • North Korea's first missile launch in about two months comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul for talks with some key leaders amid a political turmoil in the South, and just days before the inauguration of US Pres.-elect Donald Trump.[4][6]
  • On Monday, Blinken condemned the test-firing and expressed concerns over the alleged "two-way street" military cooperation between Pyongyang and Moscow in which the North would send troops to fight against Ukraine in exchange for advanced weapons technology.[7][8]

Sources: [1]The Pyongyang Times, [2]The Japan Times, [3]Associated Press, [4]Yonhap News Agency, [5]The Korea Times, [6]BBC News, [7]CBS and [8]Raw Story.

Narratives

  • Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by The Pyongyang Times. The world just cannot ignore the successful performance of North Korea's newly tested intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile, so Pyongyang's goal to ramp up its own deterrence and defense has been achieved. Now, the enemies of North Korea better think twice before trying to harm its security.
  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by The Korea Herald. Pyongyang is likely to have exaggerated the flight distance and the very existence of a second peak, but one can never overestimate the threat that North Korea poses to the free world — especially now that the reclusive nuclear-armed state is deepening its military alliance with Russia.