North Korea tests new hypersonic missile ahead of APEC summit in South Korea

North Korea hypersonic missile test

North Korea said it successfully tested a new hypersonic weapon system in its latest show of force “against potential enemies” as world leaders, including President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, prepare to gather in South Korea for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit next week.

“The new weapon system was tested as part of the defense capability development program to enhance the sustainability and effectiveness of strategic deterrence against potential enemies,” the North’s official Korean Central News Agency said Thursday. The report comes a day after South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff said Pyongyang fired suspected short-range ballistic missiles.

The US, China, North Korea and others are in a race to develop hypersonic weapons with maneuverable gliders that are too quick and agile for traditional missile defense systems to detect in time. It remains to be seen if North Korea has actually developed a functional hypersonic glide vehicle.

Two projectiles were launched northeastward from Pyongyang and hit targets on the tableland in North Hamgyong province, the report said, without elaborating on specifics of the missile type. South Korea’s military earlier confirmed the missiles struck targets inside North Korea.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said in January that his country’s hypersonic missile would keep rivals in the Pacific region in check after test firing an intermediate-range ballistic missile. The North’s missile launches this week, the first in more than five months, came as South Korea prepares to host world leaders for the APEC gathering next week.

The US condemned the “unlawful and destabilizing actions” and called on North Korea to refrain from further acts n violation of the United Nations Security Council resolutions, the US Forces Korea said in a statement. “We are consulting closely with the Republic of Korea. Our focus is on maintaining the readiness required to defend the homelands.”

The flight range of the missiles launched Wednesday is similar to the distance from the launch point to Gyeongju, the APEC host city this year, said Hong Min, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul. “They possibly intended to convey an indirect message of threat,” he said.