[Comprehensive Report 3] North Korea Aims Hypersonic Ballistic Missile Targeting US Mainland

North Korea fired another projectile into the East Sea on the 30th. This marks the seventh show of force since the beginning of the new year, coming just three days after launching two ground-to-ground tactical guided missiles on the 27th. The Joint Chiefs of Staff announced in a text message sent to the press corps at 7:57 a.m. that North Korea had launched an unidentified projectile into the East Sea. The photo shows citizens watching the related news at Seoul Station on the same day. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Yang Nak-gyu, Military Specialist Reporter] North Korea launched one medium-range ballistic missile on the 30th. This is the first time in four years since November 2017, when North Korea tested the Hwasong-15 intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM-class), marking the highest level provocation in that period.

On the day, the Joint Chiefs of Staff announced, "At around 7:52 a.m., one medium-range ballistic missile was detected launched at a high angle from the Mupeong-ri area in Jagang Province, heading east toward the East Sea."

The military authorities detected the missile's flight distance to be approximately 800 km and altitude about 2,000 km. South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies are currently conducting a detailed analysis of the specifications, but it is largely assessed that this was a test launch aimed at developing a hypersonic ballistic missile into a medium-to-long-range missile (IRBM). According to U.S. classification standards, IRBMs have a range of 3,000 to 5,500 km, just below the ICBM category, which has a range of over 5,500 km.

North Korea had consecutively launched ballistic missiles claimed to be 'hypersonic missiles' in the Jagang Province area on the 5th and 11th of this month. There is also a possibility that atmospheric re-entry tests for performance improvement of these missiles were conducted. It is speculated that North Korea aims to develop hypersonic ballistic missiles into ICBM-class weapons capable of striking Guam or Alaska.

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 coordination calls immediately after North Korea's missile launch and confirmed the strengthening of the ROK-U.S. combined defense posture.

Ryu Seong-yeop, a research fellow at the 21st Century Military Research Institute, evaluated, "Considering the similarity to the specifications of the Hwasong-12 medium-to-long-range missile launched on May 14, 2017, it is presumed that Hwasong-12 IRBM activities have resumed."

Meanwhile, North Korea consecutively launched ballistic missiles claimed to be 'hypersonic missiles' in the Jagang Province area on the 5th and 11th, and on the 14th, fired two KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles, known as the 'North Korean version of Iskander,' from a train on the railway in the Uiju area of North Pyongan Province.

On the 17th, two KN-24 short-range ballistic missiles, called the 'North Korean version of ATACMS,' were launched near Pyongyang Sunan Airport; on the 25th, two long-range cruise missiles; and on the 27th, two short-range ballistic missiles presumed to be an improved warhead version of the KN-23 were launched. This marks the first time since Kim Jong-un took power at the end of 2011 that North Korea has launched missiles seven times in one month.

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