North Korea announced on September 22 that the recent missile test involved a new type of weapon system with “significant meaning.” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stated that developing this weapon will enhance North Korea’s military capability and make enemies feel a “very severe and unavoidable blow.”
According to reports from the Korean news agency, official photos released by North Korea showed that the missile tested appears to be an improved version of the previously claimed hypersonic-capable “Hwasong-11Ma-1,” a variant of the “Hwasong-11Ma.” Monitoring screens in the report’s photos indicated that the missile’s flight speed reached 2,146 meters per second.
The South Korean military reported detecting North Korea launching two short-range ballistic missiles from the eastern coastal area of Wonsan on September 20, flying distances of approximately 450 kilometers and 600 kilometers, with a 3-hour interval. However, North Korea’s released monitoring footage showed one flight reaching a distance of 908.2 kilometers and a maximum altitude of 35.8 kilometers, differing from the data announced by the South Korean military.
The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff stated that they are analyzing the data released by North Korea and cautioned the public not to fully trust North Korea’s propaganda regarding the missile’s performance. Quoting an analysis by Shin Jong-woo, Director of the Korea Defense and Security Forum (KODEF), the Korean news agency reported that the missile seems to be a short-range hypersonic missile with improved capabilities in low-altitude skipping and gliding.