People watch a TV screen showing a news program reporting about North Korea’s missile launch at a train station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, Sept. 29, 2021. North Korea said Wednesday it successfully tested a new hypersonic missile it implied was being developed as nuclear capable, as it continues to expand its military capabilities and pressure Washington and Seoul over long-stalled negotiations over its nuclear weapons. The Korean letters read: “Test a new hypersonic missile.” (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) Lee Jin-man/AP

North Korea launches unidentified projectile, South Korean military says

Daniel Chaitin October 18, 09:36 PMOctober 18, 09:59 PM

North Korea fired an unidentified projectile toward the East Sea, South Korea’s military announced early Tuesday morning local time.

No other details were immediately available, but news of the launch, reported by Yonhap News, appears to be the latest show of aggression from Kim Jong Un’s regime amid years of stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and the United States.

The development also also comes roughly three weeks after North Korea launched a short-range missile into the sea. A day later, the hermit nation claimed it fired a “hypersonic” missile for the first time, a warfare technology being developed by superpowers including the United States and China that could be used to carry nuclear warheads.

Over the weekend, the Financial Times reported China, a key ally to North Korea, “tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile” that “circled the globe before speeding towards its target, demonstrating advanced space capabilities that caught U.S. intelligence by surprise,” citing unnamed sources “briefed on the intelligence.”

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian rejected the reporting on Monday, saying the test, which occurred in August, was “a spacecraft, not a missile,” according to CNN.

The United States, China, and Russia are all trying to create, test, and perfect hypersonic weapons that travel at five times the speed of sound, as the Washington Examiner reported.

These missiles would still travel slower than a ballistic missile, but they have the maneuverability that ballistic missiles lack, which helps them dodge and become harder for enemies to track.

U.S. military leaders have warned about China’s nuclear capabilities, as tension regarding Taiwan continues to escalate.

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In response to the reported Chinese launch, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. sees China as the No. 1 “pacing challenge.”

“We have made clear our concerns about the military capabilities China continues to pursue, capabilities that only increase tensions in the region and beyond,” Kirby said.

© 2021 Washington Examiner

Originally appeared at Washington Examiner

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