North Korea claims successful test of new generation medium-range ballistic missile equipped with hypersonic warhead
(Baonghean.vn) - On April 3, North Korea said it had successfully test-launched a new generation intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) equipped with a hypersonic warhead, emphasizing that all missiles currently developed by the country are nuclear-capable and use solid fuel.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on April 3 that General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea and President of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea Kim Jong-un directed the test of the missile, named Hwasongpho-16B, on April 2.
Earlier, the South Korean military said it detected an IRBM launch from the Pyongyang area and the missile flew about 600 km before falling into the sea east of North Korea.
The launch marked North Korea's third ballistic missile test this year. In January, North Korea launched a solid-fueled hypersonic intermediate-range missile. KCNA quoted leader Kim Jong-un as saying that the successful test of the Hwasong-16 missile confirmed that all of North Korea's strategic missiles now use solid fuel and are capable of carrying mobile nuclear warheads.
Meanwhile, on April 2, the South Korean Defense Ministry said that the country conducted a joint air exercise with Washington and Tokyo with the participation of nuclear-capable B-52H bombers and F-15K fighter jets near the Korean Peninsula./.
