N. Korea says it test-fired 'hypersonic' missile in state media report

SEOUL, Jan. 6 (Yonhap) -- North Korea said Thursday that it has conducted a test-firing of what it called a "hypersonic" missile a day earlier.

On Wednesday, South Korea's military said the North fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile toward the East Sea from the northern province of Jagang.

"Having been detached after its launch, the missile made a 120 km lateral movement in the flight distance of the hypersonic gliding warhead from the initial launch azimuth to the target azimuth and precisely hit a set target 700 km away," the North's official Korean Central News Agency said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the firing.

The North conducted the first test-firing of the "hypersonic" missile Hwasong-8 in September last year, though the South Korean military have said it appeared to be at an early stage of development.
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