North Korea Claims to Test Hypersonic Missile
North Korea claims to have conducted its first test of a new hypersonic missile, an achievement of "great strategic significance," according to state media. The Hwasong-8 missile is presumed to be capable of carrying a nuclear or conventional warhead. Following the Sep 28 test, North Korea...
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Published in | Arms control today Vol. 51; no. 9; pp. 20 - 21 |
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Main Author | |
Format | Magazine Article |
Language | English |
Published |
Washington
Arms Control Association
01.11.2021
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | North Korea claims to have conducted its first test of a new hypersonic missile, an achievement of "great strategic significance," according to state media. The Hwasong-8 missile is presumed to be capable of carrying a nuclear or conventional warhead. Following the Sep 28 test, North Korean state media said that development of the hypersonic missile was "one of 5 top-priority tasks facing the strategic weapon sector" and released a photograph of the launch, which showed a vehicle resembling the shape of a hypersonic glide vehicle on top of a shortened version of an intermediate-range ballistic missile. Glide vehicles are a new type of hypersonic weapon, which can fly at least five times the speed of sound and are distinguished from traditional ballistic missiles by their ability to maneuver and operate at lower altitudes. |
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ISSN: | 0196-125X 1943-5754 |