The Hwasong-8 hypersonic missile test suggest that North Korea has been going ahead with its weapons exercises unhindered.
When Hwasong-8 blasted off the launchpad, what it actually did was that it sent shivers across the world. North Korea’s successful testing of its new hypersonic missile that goes by that name may not go well with a majority of the nations across the world, as the country’s top leadership has always stayed aloof from interacting with counterparts.
Whatever be the case, North Korea’s new missile testing has been termed by the nation’s media as one among the “five most important” new weapons systems charted out as part of its five-year military development plan. And, when the state media preferred to call it a strategic weapon, the inference, says a BBC report, is that it is one with nuclear capabilities.
The sanctions imposed on it notwithstanding, North Korea has been going ahead with its weapons exercises unhindered. The testing of new missile technologies doesn’t augur well for the hopes of a peaceful existence as hope, among the nations of the world.
Is Hwasong-8 missile test part of North Korean self-defence?
Pyongyang reiterates that the testing of new weapons systems goes hand in hand with its need to ensure self-defence. But then, three missile test launches in a matter of a month, as it has happened this month, could be a reason for concern.
Significantly enough, North Korea has done its latest missile testing soon after North Korean envoy Kim Song had stated the annual UN General Assembly in New York, that it was his country’s right to develop weapons. He had stressed at the UN General Assembly that Pyongyang was strengthening its national defence so as to secure itself and safeguard the country’s peaceful existence.
When North Korea tests its hypersonic missiles, it also means that it has tested extremely fast and agile missiles that are immensely tough for missile defence systems to intercept. Talking of hypersonic missiles, North Korea isn’t the only nation to do it. Of late, Russia has also successfully launched a hypersonic missile that returned a speed of 8659.88km/h.
The world is concerned, for sure
It may also be recalled that South Korea, in a bid to put in place a deterrent against North Korean provocative behaviour, had recently tested its first submarine-launched ballistic missile.
Also, the UN atomic agency had a few days ago hinted that North Korea had restarted a reactor that could produce plutonium for nuclear weapons. This, according to the agency was a development that could be deeply troubling.
The world, in the meantime, is watching with bated breath. The latest testing of the supposedly nuclear hypersonic missile would also mean that President Kim Jong Un hasn’t yet put an end to his love for weapons of mass destruction.