[Comprehensive Report 2] North Korea's 7th Missile in a Month... Possible Hypersonic Missile

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea launched one projectile presumed to be a ballistic missile on the 30th.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff stated in a text message sent to the press corps on the same day, "At around 7:52 a.m., one projectile presumed to be a ballistic missile was launched from the Jagang Province area toward the East Sea."

The missile's flight distance was detected to be about 800 km, with an altitude of approximately 2,000 km. The flight time appears to have been over 30 minutes. South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities are currently conducting a detailed analysis, but it is reported that the missile launched that day is considered a medium-range ballistic missile, with possibilities including a hypersonic glide vehicle test launch or a medium-range or longer ballistic missile.

The Jagang Province area, where North Korea's missile launch was detected, was the site of consecutive test launches of ballistic missiles claimed to be "hypersonic missiles" on the 5th and 11th of this month. Subsequently, North Korea fired an improved Iskander short-range ballistic missile (KN-23) on the 14th, and a short-range ballistic missile (KN-24) called the North Korean version of the ATACMS on the 17th. On the 25th, a long-range cruise missile was launched, and on the 27th, a KN-23 with a modified warhead was fired. This missile launch marks North Korea's seventh show of force since the beginning of the new year. It is the first time since Chairman Kim Jong-un took power at the end of 2011 that North Korea has launched missiles seven times in one month.

Won In-chul, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Paul LaCamera, Commander of the ROK-U.S. Combined Forces Command, shared the situation through a coordination call immediately after North Korea's missile launch and confirmed their commitment to strengthening the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture, the Joint Chiefs of Staff reported.

The Joint Chiefs emphasized, "Our military is maintaining a readiness posture while tracking and monitoring related developments in preparation for additional launches."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.