NORTH Korea has test-fired an intermediate-range missile designed to carry a hypersonic strategic weapon system in a drill overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, state media KCNA reported on Sunday.
According to KCNA, the missile was launched on Saturday from eastern North Korea and successfully struck a target in the sea off the country's eastern coast, spanning a distance of 1,000 kilometres.
State media reported that the drill aimed to train military personnel operating the hypersonic strategic weapon system while evaluating the reliability, efficiency, and mobility of the nation's strategic war deterrent.
The report elaborated on details previously disclosed by Kim Yo Jong, the high-ranking ruling Workers' Party official and sister of Kim Jong Un.
Kim Yo Jong stated that South Korea and Japan had failed to accurately track the weapon's flight path, asserting that a special wave-like trajectory mode exposed vulnerabilities in their monitoring capabilities.
South Korea’s military stated on Saturday that it had detected the ballistic missile launch and initially estimated that the projectile had flown more than 700 kilometres before landing in the sea off the eastern coast.
KCNA reported that Kim Jong Un reaffirmed the necessity of strengthening Pyongyang’s strategic war deterrent, stating that North Korea must ensure its adversaries recognize the reliability and fatality of its strategic offensive weaponry to guarantee national security.
The test marks North Korea's latest missile launch this year and comes amid heightened regional friction following a landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone that wounded South Korean soldiers.
Pyongyang has rejected Seoul's demands for an official apology, with Kim Yo Jong dismissing the allegations as groundless and denying that North Korea deliberately planted mines targeting South Korean forces. - October 4, 2026
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