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North Korea Fires Missiles After South Korea's Hypersonic Test
Confirmed
In Short: South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff reported North Korea launched missiles in response to South Korea's successful hypersonic missile test.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff reported that North Korea launched missiles after South Korea tested its first hypersonic missile on Thursday, according to Al Jazeera (Qatar) and The Korea Times (Korea, Republic of).
Al Jazeera (Qatar) and The Korea Times (Korea, Republic of) both reported that North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast, with one missile flying more than 900 kilometers. However, there is some discrepancy in the exact number of missiles launched, with Al Jazeera (Qatar) and CBS News reporting multiple launches, while The Korea Times (Korea, Republic of) and Türkiye Today (Türkiye) specifically mention two missiles.
According to Al Jazeera (Qatar) and Wsls, Koyari, a Japanese official, stated that the first missile flew about 220 kilometers and the second more than 910 kilometers, suggesting it may have been a hypersonic weapon. Meanwhile, The Korea Times (Korea, Republic of) and Kyivpost (Ukraine) reported that the missiles were fired from the Pyongyang area, where North Korea has used its airport as a major launch site.
South Korea’s presidential office, as reported by Al Jazeera (Qatar), said that Pyongyang’s repeated missile launches violate United Nations Security Council resolutions and urged an immediate stop. JCS spokesperson Jang Do-young, quoted by Al Jazeera (Qatar), said the latest missile launch appears to be a show of force, days after South Korea tested its own hypersonic weapon.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff, as reported by Al Jazeera (Qatar) and Wsls, noted that one of the missiles flew more than 900 kilometers before falling into the sea. However, Jang Do-young did not comment on the flight details of the other weapons, as reported by Wsls.
The joint chiefs did not specify how many missiles were detected, according to Al Jazeera (Qatar), CBS News, and Wsls. Japan’s coast guard detected two objects that were fired from North Korea, as reported by Tempo.co English (Colombia) and En (Colombia).
The JCS is analyzing the missiles’ flight distance and other specifications, according to The Korea Times (Korea, Republic of). JCS spokesperson Jang Do-young told a press briefing that initial analysis suggests the launch was seen as a protest against South Korea’s hypersonic glide vehicle test and a display of North Korea’s achievements under its five-year plan to bolster defense capabilities.
South Korea’s military and the U.S.-led United Nations Command concluded that the blasts were caused by devices planted by North Korea, which has denied responsibility and ridiculed the South's demands for an apology, as reported by CBS News and New York Post.
The irony that lower-end long-range kamikaze drones are perhaps the biggest threat to extremely advanced radars capable of providing telemetry for intercepting targets traveling at hypersonic speeds is noted by Twz.
In summary, multiple publications from different countries reported North Korea’s missile launches in response to South Korea’s hypersonic missile test. While there are some discrepancies in the exact number of missiles and their flight distances, all sources agree that North Korea launched missiles as a show of force and in protest of South Korea’s successful hypersonic missile test.
What this adds
The exact number of missiles launched and their specific flight paths remain under analysis by South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.
What's confirmed
- South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said one of the missiles launched from the Pyongyang area flew more than 900km.
- Koyari said the first missile flew about 220 kilometres (137 miles) and the second more than 910 kilometres (565 miles), following an “irregular” flight path and suggested it may have been a hypersonic weapon.
- On October 3, North Korea also tested a hypersonic intermediate-range missile designed to evade missile defences in South Korea and Japan.
- Lee’s office said the hypersonic weapon, once fully developed, would enhance South Korea’s ability to strike key targets by surprise in the “Korean Peninsula theatre of operations”.
- On Thursday, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung oversaw the country’s first test-firing of a hypersonic missile, a rare public showcasing of a missile test by a South Korean president.
- North Korea has fired multiple ballistic missiles towards the sea off its east coast, South Korea’s military says.
- The joint chiefs did not specify how many missiles were detected.
- South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the missiles were fired from an area around the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, where the country has used its airport as a major launch site in recent years.
- While maintaining a hard line toward Seoul, North Korea has been ramping up weapons testing as it seeks to expand its arsenal of nuclear-capable systems, including an Oct.
- The South's military and the U.S.-led United Nations Command concluded the blasts were caused by devices planted by North Korea, which has denied responsibility and ridiculed the South's demands for an apology.
- Japan's coast guard also detected two objects that were fired from North Korea.
- Japan’s Deputy Defence Minister Takashi Koyari said at least two missiles were launched 17 minutes apart and landed in waters outside of its exclusive economic zone.
What's still developing
- Kim in recent years has halted all diplomacy and cooperation with South Korea and described the neighbor as a permanent enemy during a prolonged stalemate in larger nuclear negotiations with Washington.
- Russia's defence ministry said the Oreshnik hypersonic missile was used in the strikes, which it described as coming in response to Ukraine's "attacks on civilian infrastructure".
- The overall rating is based on review by our experts The Fattah-2 represents Iran’s latest step into the rapidly evolving hypersonic weapons domain, building on the foundation established by the earlier Fattah-1.
- New destroyers will be capable of performing missile defense tasks, meaning they can shoot down cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missiles, covering fleet from russian Onyx and Zircon.
- Prior to the border mine blast, Seoul said it was conducting “preliminary coordination efforts” to facilitate dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.
- “This flight of Blackbeard is another significant milestone as we progress toward EOC, providing a critical capability pathway for theater deterrence,” said Vice Adm.
- After the Russian missile landed in Poland on July 30, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Warsaw would consider supplying Ukraine with additional Patriot air defense missiles to help counter Russia's increasingly frequent ballistic missile attacks.