South Korea tests a hypersonic missile... after Kim's tests

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Days after North Korea announced the test of a medium-range hypersonic missile, the South Korean presidency announced, on Thursday, the success of the first test launch of a home-made hypersonic missile, in a step aimed at verifying the basic capabilities of the missile.

The presidency said that President Lee Jae-myung followed the launch, which took place on Thursday afternoon, noting that the missile is still under development and undergoing tests using local South Korean technology.

Presidential spokeswoman Kang Yu-jung also explained in a statement that the first test of the missile was conducted to verify basic technologies, including flight path and speed, as part of “the development of a strategic weapon capable of carrying out precise and sudden strikes against hostile targets.”

The South Korean test came days after Pyongyang announced it had tested a hypersonic missile under the supervision of President Kim Jong Un, in a test it said was aimed at "demonstrating the reliability of North Korea's nuclear deterrent force."

North Korea's Central News Agency reported that the medium-range strategic missile, which it described as part of a hypersonic strategic weapons system, was launched on Saturday from the east of the country and hit a target about a thousand kilometers away in the sea off the east coast.

Meanwhile, Kim Jong Un said that Pyongyang will continue its efforts to make its opponents aware of the “reliability and lethality” of its strategic offensive weapons, considering these activities as part of deterrence efforts, and reiterating that developing the country’s nuclear capabilities remains necessary for its national security and that this policy will not change.

The two tests also come at a time when the Korean Peninsula is witnessing escalating tension, against the backdrop of a series of military activities and missile tests. Tensions have recently escalated after a land mine exploded in the demilitarized zone last month, wounding South Korean soldiers, while Kim Yo Jong, the sister of the North Korean leader, rejected Seoul's demand that Pyongyang apologize, and said that the accusations directed against North Korea are "baseless."

Pyongyang denied that it had deliberately planted mines to target South Korean forces, at a time when disagreements continue between the two countries regarding military measures along the border.

Note that North Korea conducted more than 10 missile tests this year.