Stories
South Korea tests hypersonic missile 5 times faster than sound
- •South Korea tested its domestically-made hypersonic missile on October 8, designed to fly at least five times the speed of sound.
- •The new weapon can change its direction during flight, making it extremely difficult for enemy missile defense systems to track and intercept.
- •During the test, the missile separated from its booster rocket, maneuvered up-down and left-right, and successfully hit the target.
- •The test follows a recent hypersonic missile launch by North Korea, though Seoul has not directly termed its test as retaliatory.
Key Questions Answered
South Korea's domestically-made hypersonic weapon is designed to travel at least five times the speed of sound and evade enemy missile defense systems. During tests, the weapon used a booster rocket to reach a set altitude before separating and moving downwards while altering its path both up-down and left-right to strike its target.
South Korea tested its domestically-made hypersonic missile for the first time on Thursday, October 8, 2026, with President Lee Jae-myung personally observing the test.
North Korea claimed to have launched an intermediate-range hypersonic or strategic missile utilizing artificial intelligence on Saturday, October 3, 2026, which traveled over 1,000 kilometers according to Pyongyang and over 700 kilometers based on South Korean estimates.
