In North Korea, Kim Jong-un tests a hypersonic missile shortly before Donald Trump takes office

North Korea said on Tuesday January 7 that it had successfully tested a new « missile hypersonique » intended, according to leader Kim Jong-un, to deter “all rivals” of the country in the Pacific region. This test took place on Monday at the same time as a visit to South Korea by the American Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and two weeks before the inauguration of Donald Trump as president of the United States.

Ce “intermediate-range hypersonic ballistic missile” is intended for “gradually strengthen the country’s nuclear deterrence”said Kim Jong-un, who attended the launch. This new weapon “will reliably deter any rivals in the Pacific region who may affect the security of our state”he added, quoted by the official North Korean agency KCNA.

According to KCNA, a “new carbon fiber compound” was used for the missile's engine body, and “a new method (…) was introduced into the flight control and guidance system ». The use of carbon fiber in the manufacture of a missile makes it possible to reduce its weight, and therefore increase its range and maneuverability. But the technology is difficult to master due to the low resistance of this composite material to high temperatures.

“An effort to defend ourselves”

“What is alarming about this missile is that this technology is currently only possessed by Russia, China and the United States”explains to Agence France-Presse (AFP) Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.

A missile is considered hypersonic when it can reach more than five times the speed of sound, or more than 6,000 kilometers per hour. According to KCNA, the missile was fired from the Pyongyang region and traveled 1,500 kilometers at twelve times the speed of sound (Mach 12), before crashing into the Sea of ​​Japan, called the East Sea by the Koreans. For its part, the South Korean army estimated that the machine traveled 1,100 kilometers.

“This is clearly a plan and an effort to defend ourselves, it is not an offensive plan and action”assured Kim Jong-un. He nevertheless added that “the world cannot ignore” the performance of this missile, considering that it was able to “deal a serious military blow to a rival by effectively breaking down any defensive barrier”.

This is the first missile launch by North Korea in 2025. The last one took place on November 6, a few hours before the presidential election in the United States. With this shot, Kim Jong-un “sends a clear message to the Trump administration that to engage in dialogue, North Korea's strategic position must be recognized”according to Hong Min, an analyst at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

During his first term, Donald Trump made very personal attempts at rapprochement with Kim Jong-un, whom he met three times. Although he had failed to get North Korea to renounce its nuclear weapons program, for which the country is heavily sanctioned by the UN, this rapprochement had still reduced tensions between the two Koreas. .

Since then, in 2022, North Korea declared “irreversible” its status as a nuclear power, and even engraved it the following year in its Constitution. Its army has carried out numerous tests of weapons banned by the United Nations, including that of a solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

According to Hong Min, Monday's missile launch is intended to show Washington that Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal is now much more advanced than during Mr. Trump's first term (2017-2021). And that the country, which has also signed a mutual defense treaty with Russia, is in a strong position for a possible resumption of negotiations with the United States. Kim Jong-un “seems to want to change the framework of the negotiations” with the aim of putting on the table “nuclear arms control to reduce threats rather than denuclearization”explains this expert.