DPRK's Kim oversees successful test of new hypersonic missile: KCNA
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State media reports that the DPRK's new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile "is of another strategic value".
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A test launch of a hypersonic missile in an unknown location in the DPRK with file photos made public on January 11, 2022 (KCNA)
The leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea DPRK, Kim Jong Un, oversaw a successful ground jet test of a solid-fuel engine for a new-type intermediate-range hypersonic missile, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday.
The new missile "is of another strategic value," the outlet said.
Read more: DPRK leader drives new tank during mock battle
According to KCNA, Kim Jong Un said that the "military strategic value of this weapon system is seen as important as ICBMs."
Pyongyang had reportedly carried out a series of live-fire tests since last year for a new type of solid fuel engine for intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs).
The latest test round came just two days after the DPRK carried out another exercise overseen by Kim, which included tests on "newly-equipped super-large" multiple rocket launchers. The DPRK confirmed that the weapon can also be equipped with a tactical nuclear warhead.
Kim said the multiple rocket launcher would help his country "block and suppress the possibility of war with the constant perfect preparedness to collapse the capital of the enemy," according to KCNA.
Washington and Seoul wrapped up one of their major annual joint military training exercises last week, which prompted tit-for-tat drills from Pyongyang.
Read more: DPRK on heightened war readiness amid US-South Korea drills
The drills included "clearing operations" inside DPRK's "key facilities" in case of an attack by Pyongyang, Seoul's military stated.
Pyongyang warned earlier that the US and South Korea would pay a "dear price" over their military exercises, and later announced that Kim had guided an artillery unit it says was capable of striking the South Korean capital.
Meanwhile, Kim oversaw last week's paratroop drills aimed at showing his soldiers' ability to occupy an "enemy region at a stroke."
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
