North Korea test-fires ‘new' hypersonic IRBM

North Korea's ‘new' hypersonic IRBM has an estimated potential range of up to 5,500 km. (Janes)

North Korea has test-fired a ‘new' hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM), state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported on 7 January.

KCNA said the missile was fired on 6 January towards the northeast from the suburbs of Pyongyang. The test was conducted by North Korea's Missile Administration, it said.

KCNA also reported that the IRBM featured a new “composite carbon fibre material” used to manufacture the engine body and that the engine's flight and guidance control system was based on a “new … method based on the already accumulated technologies”. KCNA did not elaborate further.

The IRBM's hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), which separated from the missile after its launch, reached its first peak at an altitude of 99.8 km before making a gliding re-entry to reach the second peak at a height of 42.5 km along a pre-programmed flight trajectory before hitting a target in the Sea of Japan (East Sea) around 1,500 km away, according to KCNA.

It added that the IRBM travelled at a speed of Mach 12, but it is unclear if the speed was achieved after the first peak or the second.

“The test of the new strategic weapon system is part of plans for the development of the national defence capabilities to raise the durability and effectiveness of the strategic deterrent against the potential enemies in conformity with the changing regional security environment,” KCNA reported.