N.Korea fires missile from Wonsan, believed to be hypersonic Hwasong-16Na

North Korea fired one ballistic missile toward the East Sea from the area of Wonsan at around 6:30 a.m. on the 3rd. The projectile is believed to be a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile, the 'Hwasong-16Na.' Missiles with a range of 300 to 1,000 km are typically classified as short-range, but the Joint Chiefs of Staff did not specify this missile as short-range. Military authorities are reportedly analyzing its specifications while keeping open the possibility that it was a reduced-range test launch of a medium- or intermediate-range missile.

In an unusual move, Kim Yo-jong, department director of the Workers' Party of Korea's General Affairs Department, announced via the Korean Central News Agency the same day as the launch that it was a strategic weapons launch drill using an intermediate-range strategic missile. She called the range figures announced by South Korean and Japanese military authorities "interesting numbers" and claimed that the 'wave-form' flight trajectory method was applied every time. Given her statement that it demonstrated the ability to alter its flight trajectory at low altitude, the projectile is presumed to be part of the Hwasong-16Na series, known for its irregular maneuvers.

Unlike ordinary ballistic missiles, hypersonic missiles maneuver during their descent phase and then glide for a certain distance. Due to radar detection limits caused by the curvature of the Earth, they tend to fly farther than South Korean and Japanese military authorities predict.

The launch came three days after the South Korean military demanded an apology and responsible measures from North Korea over the DMZ landmine explosion incident. In a statement on the 2nd, Kim Yo-jong denounced President Lee Jae-myung's Armed Forces Day address, which pledged to continue military tension-easing measures with the North, as a "self-staged clown show," and also brushed aside Unification Minister Jeong Dong-young's offer of dialogue.

This was North Korea's 15th ballistic missile launch of the year and its first in 13 days since Oct. 20. North Korea did not disclose the specific flight distance of the missile, and South Korean and U.S. military authorities are conducting an in-depth analysis of its exact specifications.