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| ▲ In this Korean Central News Agency file photo on Dec. 25, 2025, leader Kim Jong-un oversees the test launch of a new long-range anti-air missile. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap) |
N Korea-missile launch
N. Korea says it tested hypersonic missiles with leader Kim Jong-un attending
SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- North Korea test-launched hypersonic missiles in Pyongyang the previous day that successfully struck targets in the East Sea, with leader Kim Jong-un in attendance, state media reported Monday.
"A sub-unit under a major firing strike group of the Korean People's Army conducted a missile launching drill" to evaluate the country's war deterrence and the readiness of the weapon system, as well as to verify its capacity to fulfill missions, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
South Korea's military detected the missile launch at 7:50 a.m. Sunday, hours before President Lee Jae Myung departed for Beijing for summit talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and after the United States announced the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro in a large-scale military strike.
"To be honest, our such activity is clearly aimed at gradually putting the nuclear war deterrent on a high-developed basis. Why it is necessary is exemplified by the recent geopolitical crisis and complicated international events," Kim was quoted as saying in the KCNA report.
The KCNA report did not specify what the "recent geopolitical crisis" is, but the North's foreign ministry has condemned the U.S. military strike that captured Maduro, calling it "the most serious form of encroachment of sovereignty."
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