North Korea touts new weapons system described as hypersonic

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea declared Tuesday that its latest missile tests featured a new weapons system of "great significance," with images suggesting a missile launch previously classified as hypersonic. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un described the weapon's development as enhancing the nation's military readiness and frustrating potential adversaries, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency.

However, Kim failed to specify the nature of the weapon. Kim observed Sunday's tests alongside his teenage daughter, who is often considered a possible future leader. South Korea's military reported two short-range missiles launched from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan, approximately three hours apart, traveling about 450 and 600 kilometers (280 miles and 370 miles) out to sea.

Japan's military stated the missiles landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. This series of military displays, including live-fire exercises and the unveiling of a new warship, reflects Kim's ongoing display of military might amid his expanding nuclear program, despite persistent U.S. calls for diplomatic engagement. Since intensifying missile tests, Kim has amassed a substantial arsenal of nuclear-capable missiles, including long-range weapons potentially capable of reaching the U.S. mainland and shorter-range systems designed to outmaneuver missile defenses in South Korea and Japan.

Hypersonic weapons, capable of traveling at more than five times the speed of sound, are designed to elude regional missile defenses, although some experts have doubted their consistent achievement of claimed speeds during tests. Photos from KCNA showed two missiles with conical, finned warheads being launched from trucks, identified as Hwasong-11Ma, a system North Korea has previously labeled as hypersonic.

Despite U.S. President Donald Trump's efforts to resume dialogue last month by scaling back joint military exercises with South Korea, Kim's sister and senior official, Kim Yo Jong, rejected the overtures, maintaining that the drills retain their "provocative, aggressive nature." With his nuclear arsenal growing and strengthening ties with Russia and China, experts suggest Kim Jong Un perceives himself as having more leverage in any renewed diplomatic talks with Trump.