North Korea conducts hypersonic missile launch drill

TOKYO, Jan 5 (KUNA) -- North Korea conducted a hypersonic missile launching drill Sunday with the missiles hitting targets 1,000 km away in the East Sea (Sea of Japan), state-run media reported on Monday.
"A sub-unit under a major firing strike group of the Korean People's Army conducted a missile launching drill," on Sunday as part of evaluating the readiness of the hypersonic weapon system and verifying its capability to fulfill missions, according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un oversaw the drill, in which the hypersonic missiles launched from Pyongyang's Ryokpho District toward the northeast.
"It is a very important strategic task to maintain and expand a powerful and reliable nuclear deterrent," Kim was quoted as saying, "Through today's launching drill, we can confirm that a very important technology task for national defense has been carried out." The missile soldiers showed the readiness of DPRK's nuclear forces without regret and gave confidence in it," Kim noted, stressing the need to further strengthen military capabilities, saying, "We must continuously upgrade the military means, especially offensive weapon systems. It is just an essential undertaking for self-defense." DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name. South Korea's Defense Ministry said Sunday that North Korea fired multiple ballistic missiles toward the East Sea at 7:50 AM (23:50 Saturday GMT), in what marked the North's first display of weapons testing this year, the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported. (end) mk.res