N Korea joins hypersonic missile race

North Korea test-fired a newly developed hypersonic missile this week, state news media KCNA reported on Wednesday, joining a race headed by major military powers to deploy the advanced weapons system.

North Korea fired the missile off its east coast towards the sea on Tuesday, South Korea's military said, as Pyongyang called on the United States and South Korea to scrap their "double standards" on weapons programmes to restart diplomatic talks. read more

North Korea has been steadily developing its weapons systems amid an impasse over talks aimed at dismantling its nuclear and ballistic missile arsenals in return for US sanctions relief.

Sung Kim, the US special envoy for North Korea, said the latest launch was "destabilising" and posed a regional threat, but Washington would continue diplomatic efforts to denuclearise the Korean peninsula.

"We are waiting to hear back from Pyongyang. We have made a number of approaches ... and proposed dialogues on a wide range of topics," he told a virtual forum from Jakarta where he serves as US ambassador to Indonesia.

Unlike ballistic missiles that fly into outer space before returning on steep trajectories, hypersonic weapons fly towards targets at lower altitudes and can achieve more than five times the speed of sound - or about 6,200 km per hour (3,850 mph).

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said the North's hypersonic missile was at an early stage of development, judging by detected velocity and other data, and would take a "considerable period of time" until it could be deployed.

The development of the weapons system increased North Korea's defence capabilities, KCNA said, describing the hypersonic missile as a "strategic weapon".

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not inspect the launch, according to the report.

"In the first test-launch, national defence scientists confirmed the navigational control and stability of the missile," the report said.