The presidential office said South Korea's first hypersonic glide vehicle separated from its booster, flew its planned path and hit the target, with President Lee watching.
South Korea successfully test-launched its first hypersonic glide vehicle on Thursday, with President Lee Jae Myung observing, the presidential office said. Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung described the flight in a written briefing.
An HGV is boosted into the upper atmosphere, then separates and glides at lower altitude at hypersonic speed. Kang said the vehicle separated from its booster and followed its planned path under hypersonic conditions. She said it then descended, made horizontal and vertical course changes, and hit the target.
The test was meant to check flight path and speed, thermal protection, guidance and control, and low-altitude maneuvering. Kang called it a milestone toward a deterrent that could strike critical targets across the Korean Peninsula theater. The vehicle is still under development.
Yonhap attributed the account to the presidential office. It did not publish an independent range, speed or launch-site figure.
The briefing is a claim of a successful first flight test, not a declaration that the system is in service.
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- Kang Yu-jung said the vehicle separated, flew its planned path and hit the target.