Star Metro - South Korea test-fires its first homegrown hypersonic weapon: presidency

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung "observed the first test launch of a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) -- currently under research and development using domestic technology," the presidential Blue House said in a statement.

Hypersonic glide vehicles are sent into the upper atmosphere via rocket boosters or on ballistic missiles, then glide towards their target at five times the speed of sound or greater.

Hailing a "key strategic asset capable of changing the course of the battlefield", the South Korean statement said that the missiles' "unpredictable flight trajectories and overwhelming speed enable them to strike key strategic targets".

The test was aimed at verifying "the performance of ultra-high-temperature heat-resistant materials -- a core technology for glide vehicles -- as well as guidance and control capabilities and the ability to fly irregularly at low altitudes under hypersonic flight conditions," it added.

Analysts say North Korea, which is technically at war with the South, has stepped up testing of its own hypersonic weapons with technological support from Russia.

In response, "South Korea has also been devoting considerable effort to developing the technology -- and can be said to have achieved a successful test this time," Hong Sung-pyo, senior researcher at the Seoul-based Korea Institute for Military Affairs, told AFP.

Moscow has used hypersonic missiles in combat since around 2024, according to analysts.

Pyongyang has said its Saturday launch involved the use of AI, claiming there was "no way to avoid" the missile that was "capable of changing its flight orbit at a low altitude".

It also said that the missile's "wave-like trajectory mode" left South Korea and Japan unable to track it effectively.

Both Seoul and Washington have said the missile could be "sufficiently detected and intercepted using the defensive assets possessed by the two allies".

South Korea said that the hypersonic glide vehicle tested Thursday "descended to a low altitude after separation, freely altered its trajectory both vertically and horizontally, and ... accurately struck its designated target".

The weapon offered "a new deterrence capability capable of striking key targets within the Korean Peninsula's operational environment", the Blue House said.

M.Johnston--SMC