On September 28, North Korea launched a missile from the country’s northern Jagang Province in what state-run media described as a test of a “hypersonic missile.” According to South Korean security officials, the weapon flew less than 200 km and did not follow a ballistic trajectory, exhibiting “different flight features from the missiles the North previously tested” before landing in the Sea of Japan. 

North Korean state media claimed the test of the missile, named Hwasong-8, “confirmed the navigational control and stability of the missile [booster] and also its technical specifications including the guiding maneuverability and the gliding flight characteristics of the detached hypersonic gliding warhead.” Additionally, the test reportedly “ascertained the stability of the engine as well as of missile fuel ampoule.”