North Korea Fires Ballistic Missiles... Inter-Korean Hypersonic War of Nerves

North Korea stages missile provocation four days after South Korea unveils homegrown hypersonic glide vehicle

North Korea fired several ballistic missiles toward the East Sea from the Pyongyang area on the morning of October 12. This was North Korea's 16th ballistic missile launch this year and came nine days after its previous launch on October 3. It also came four days after the South Korean government suddenly announced the first test launch of a domestically developed hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV).

The Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a media notice that it had detected “several ballistic missiles launched toward the East Sea from the Pyongyang area of North Korea from around 9:20 a.m. on October 12.” Some of the detected missiles flew more than 900 kilometers, and South Korea and the United States are conducting a detailed analysis of their specifications.

Japan's Ministry of Defense also announced that projectiles believed to be ballistic missiles were launched in succession from North Korea at around 9:20 a.m. and 9:40 a.m. Based on the ministry's announcement, North Korea appears to have fired two missiles in succession. The launches other than the missile that flew more than 900 kilometers are believed to have had shorter ranges. Missiles with ranges of 300 to 1,000 kilometers are generally classified as short-range ballistic missiles. The military is reportedly analyzing the launch while not ruling out the possibility that the missile that flew more than 900 kilometers was a medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM, with a range of 1,000 to 3,000 kilometers) test-fired at a reduced range.

The first test launch of a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) at the Agency for Defense Development, witnessed by President Lee Jaemyung on the 8th. Photo courtesy of the Presidential Office. Yonhap News.

The JCS stressed, “South Korean and U.S. intelligence authorities have tracked and shared information on related developments since the initial stages of the launch. Under the robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture, our military is closely monitoring North Korea's various activities and maintaining the capabilities and readiness to respond decisively to any provocation.”

On October 8, the government conducted the first test launch of an HGV under development using South Korean technology. President Lee Jaemyung observed the launch from a sea-based barge at the Agency for Defense Development's (ADD) Anheung Test Site. The South Korean hypersonic missile launched that day flew several hundred kilometers and is believed to have been a medium-range or longer-range missile fired at a reduced range. The Presidential Office also released photographs showing the HGV launch and its impact at the target point.

Hypersonic missiles fly at speeds of Mach 5 or higher and perform unpredictable maneuvers unlike the conventional parabolic trajectory of ballistic missiles, making them difficult to track and intercept. They are known as “game changers” on the battlefield.

Some observers said the government had demonstrated its deterrence against North Korea by publicizing advanced weapons in response to a North Korean landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), and that the move revealed a competitive dynamic between the two Koreas over the development of hypersonic missiles.

The military assesses that North Korea's latest launch was in part a show of force in response to the South Korean government's successful HGV launch. Regarding North Korea's intentions, Jang Doyoung, director, said, “We are analyzing it as a show of force in response to the successful test launch of our hypersonic missile, as well as an effort to tout achievements under the roadmap of the five-year plan for developing national defense capabilities and a deliberate demonstration of its missile capabilities.”

North Korea claimed that the ballistic missile it launched toward the East Sea from the Wonsan area on October 3 was a “medium-range strategic missile” equipped with a hypersonic warhead. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who observed the test launch, stressed that “responsible efforts to continually and repeatedly impress upon our adversaries the reliability and lethality of our strategic strike assets must continue without interruption.”

North Korea also claimed that the missile had flown 1,000 kilometers and that the South Korean military had failed to detect it, despite reporting its range as “more than 700 kilometers.” Unlike the trajectory of a conventional ballistic missile, a hypersonic missile glides over a certain distance after performing a pull-up maneuver (descending and then climbing again) during its descent. Because of limits on radar detection caused by the Earth's curvature, such missiles are characterized by flying farther than the range anticipated by the South Korean and Japanese militaries. The missile North Korea launched today may also have been hypersonic, but the possibility that it was a conventional ballistic missile cannot be ruled out.

The National Security Office of the Presidential Office held an emergency security situation review meeting today, attended by relevant agencies including the Ministry of National Defense and the JCS, to review readiness and the security situation in connection with North Korea's recent successive ballistic missile launches.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.