North Korea claims intermediate-range missile test conducted
The leader's sister said the launch demonstrated a 'strategic weapon' with wave-like trajectory and AI technology that she claimed cannot be tracked.
North Korea tested an intermediate-range strategic missile on Saturday, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement. The South Korean military had earlier reported that a ballistic missile flew more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) toward the sea off the country's east coast, according to Reuters. Kim, a director of the ruling Workers' Party, described the launch as a drill of a "strategic weapon" conducted by "a firepower sub-unit undertaking an exclusive special mission."
She said her brother oversaw the exercise. In the statement, Kim cited tracking data from Seoul and Tokyo to claim their militaries failed to follow the missile when it used a wave-like trajectory. "Whenever we applied the wave-like trajectory mode to missiles, the enemy failed to track the targets from their first skip points," she said, without providing evidence.
She added that the missile could change its flight orbit at low altitude with artificial intelligence technology and that South Korea and Japan "should acknowledge the speed of the missile," though she did not disclose a figure. "In other words, this means that there is no way to avoid this attack," Kim said. The launch was North Korea's eleventh missile test this year, according to Reuters.
Pyongyang has said some of those tests involved new weapons systems, and several followed its protests against joint military drills by South Korea and the United States. The test came a day after Kim issued a separate statement rejecting Seoul's demand for an apology over what South Korea said were North Korean mines that seriously wounded its soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily fortified area between the two Koreas. North Korea has been developing solid-fuel intermediate-range missiles that are easier to move and hide than liquid-fueled systems, according to the Los Angeles Times.
North Korea has tested hypersonic weapons since 2021, aiming to defeat regional missile defenses with speed and maneuverability.
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- North Korea tested an intermediate-range strategic missile on Saturday, Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement.confirmed
- The South Korean military had earlier reported that a ballistic missile flew more than 700 kilometers (435 miles) toward the sea off the country's east coast, according to Reuters.confirmed
- Kim, a director of the ruling Workers' Party, described the launch as a drill of a "strategic weapon" conducted by "a firepower sub-unit undertaking an exclusive special mission."confirmed
- She said her brother oversaw the exercise.confirmed
- In the statement, Kim cited tracking data from Seoul and Tokyo to claim their militaries failed to follow the missile when it used a wave-like trajectory.confirmed
- "Whenever we applied the wave-like trajectory mode to missiles, the enemy failed to track the targets from their first skip points," she said, without providing evidence.confirmed
- She added that the missile could change its flight orbit at low altitude with artificial intelligence technology and that South Korea and Japan "should acknowledge the speed of the missile," though she did not disclose a figure.confirmed
- "In other words, this means that there is no way to avoid this attack," Kim said.confirmed
- The launch was North Korea's eleventh missile test this year, according to Reuters.confirmed
- Pyongyang has said some of those tests involved new weapons systems, and several followed its protests against joint military drills by South Korea and the United States.confirmed
- The test came a day after Kim issued a separate statement rejecting Seoul's demand for an apology over what South Korea said were North Korean mines that seriously wounded its soldiers in the Demilitarized Zone, the heavily fortified area between the two Koreas.confirmed
- North Korea has been developing solid-fuel intermediate-range missiles that are easier to move and hide than liquid-fueled systems, according to the Los Angeles Times.confirmed
- North Korea has tested hypersonic weapons since 2021, aiming to defeat regional missile defenses with speed and maneuverability.confirmed
