North Korea fires suspected hypersonic missile in its first provocation in new year

Seoul, Jan 6
North Korea fired a suspected hypersonic missile into the East Sea on Monday, the South Korean military said, marking its first provocation in the new year ahead of US President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said it detected the launch of a suspected intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) at about 12 p.m. from the Pyongyang area and it flew some 1,100 kilometres before splashing into the waters.

While the missile's flight range fell short of the 3,000 to 5,500 km usually covered by IRBMs, it is suspected to have characteristics similar to North Korea's intermediate-range hypersonic missiles launched in January and April last year, a JCS official said.

If confirmed to be a hypersonic missile, it would be the farthest range travelled by a North Korean missile of its kind.

The latest launch took place as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was visiting Seoul for talks on efforts to deter North Korean threats amid political turmoil in South Korea stemming from President Yoon Suk Yeol's failed martial law bid.

South Korean officials have warned the North could take advantage of the political crisis by engaging in military activity and ratchet up cross-border tensions, Yonhap news agency reported.

"Under a firm South Korea-US combined Defence posture, our military will closely monitor various North Korean activities so that it does not misjudge the current security situation," the JCS said in a message to reporters, while denouncing the launch as a "clear provocation."

The latest saber-rattling also came two weeks before Trump takes office on January 20.

The North last fired multiple short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea on November 5, just ahead of the US presidential election.

In a year-end party meeting, North Korea declared it would carry out the "toughest" counteraction strategy toward the US, claiming military cooperation among South Korea, the US and Japan has expanded into a "military bloc for aggression."