North Korea seeks to switch to solid-fuel missiles for faster launches

North Korea successfully test-fired a new hypersonic missile, state news agency KCNA said on Wednesday, the latest step in a plan its leader Kim Jong Un described as aimed at using solid fuel to power its entire range of missiles.

The North is developing missiles and nuclear weapons undeterred by sanctions in the wake of UN Security Council bans. 

At the same time, analysts say solid-fuel missiles can be faster to deploy than liquid-fuel variants.

It drew swift condemnation from neighbors South Korea and Japan, as well as the United States, for firing the intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) into the sea on Tuesday.

KCNA said Kim oversaw the launch of the new Hwasong-16B missile, calling it a strategic weapon that showcases the "absolute superiority" of the North's defense technology.

It perfects the North's project for "putting all the tactical, operational and strategic missiles with various ranges on solid-fuelled, warhead-controlled and nuclear warhead-carrying basis," Kim expressed, according to KCNA.

That would give North Korea the capacity for "rapidly, accurately and powerfully striking any target in the enemy side worldwide," Kim added.

Reuters