KCNA said an intermediate-range missile launched on Saturday from eastern North Korea flew 1,000 km to a sea target, while South Korea's military assessed the flight at more than 700 km. Kim Yo Jong said AI was used to change the missile's low-altitude path.
North Korea fired an intermediate-range missile in a drill overseen by leader Kim Jong Un, state media KCNA reported on Sunday. KCNA said the missile was launched on Saturday from the country's east and hit a target 1,000 kilometres out to sea. The stated aim was to train troops on a hypersonic strategic weapon system and to check the reliability, efficiency and mobility of the deterrent.
South Korea's military said on Saturday that it detected a ballistic missile launch and assessed that it flew more than 700 kilometres toward the sea off the east coast. AFP, citing the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the launch was detected from the Wonsan area and that South Korea, the United States and Japan were sharing information. The two distance figures have not been reconciled in public.
Kim Yo Jong, the leader's sister and a ruling-party official, said Seoul and Tokyo had failed to track the weapon once it used what she called a wave-like trajectory. She said the missile could change its flight path at low altitude with artificial intelligence applied, without providing technical evidence. AFP reported that she claimed no other country would have access to such technology for several years.
Kim Jong Un said Pyongyang must keep working so that adversaries recognise the reliability of its strategic weapons, and he restated that a nuclear deterrent was essential to national security, according to KCNA. The claims about hypersonic performance and AI guidance come from North Korean state media and have not been independently verified.
South Korea's assessment remains the main outside account of the flight. No further launch or diplomatic response had been detailed in the Sunday wire reports beyond the existing defence coordination with the United States and Japan.
People Sentiments Negative
- Kim Yo Jong said South Korea and Japan failed to track the missile
- South Korea's military publicly reported a flight of more than 700 km
- KCNA quoted Kim Jong Un saying the nuclear deterrent remains essential