Keystone-SDA
The new hypersonic missile system used in a test launch on Monday will help deter North Korea’s “rivals”, its leader Kim Jong-un warned on Tuesday. He supervised the shooting, according to the official KCNA news agency.
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January 7, 2025 – 01:21
(Keystone-ATS) Pyongyang fired a missile on Monday morning, the first of the year, even though US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Seoul on a farewell tour before Donald Trump’s arrival as president. of the United States.
The missile, described by the South Korean military as “presumed to be an intermediate-range ballistic missile,” was fired toward the Sea of Japan.
In a statement released Tuesday by KCNA, the North Korean leader said the missile had traveled 1,500 km – more than the 1,100 km claimed by the South Korean army – and had flown at a speed exceeding twelve times the speed of sound. before sinking at sea.
“To defend ourselves”
“This is clearly a plan and an effort to defend ourselves. It is not a plan and an offensive action,” he assured. He nevertheless added that “the world cannot ignore” the performance of this missile, believing that it was able to “deal a serious military blow to a rival by effectively breaking any dense defensive barrier”.
Kim Jong-un also assured that North Korea would “accelerate” the “development of its defense capabilities in order to become a military power”.
The head of American diplomacy and his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul condemned the shooting. The last shots, a salvo of short-range ballistic missiles, took place on November 6, a few hours before the presidential election in the United States.
The previous week, North Korea tested what it claimed was its new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the most advanced in its arsenal.
