South Korea test-flies its first home-grown hypersonic weapon

South Korea flight-tested on Thursday its first domestically developed hypersonic weapon, designed to fly at least five times the speed of sound and evade missile defence systems, bringing Seoul closer to what it says could be game-changing weapons capabilities.

There was no immediate response from North Korea, which last week tested its own hypersonic missile that landed in the waters near Japan.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung attended the test, saying it was a major step in strengthening the country’s conventional defence capabilities, according to a statement. It did not elaborate where the test took place.

The statement said the weapon separated from its booster rocket at the planned altitude, then descended and manoeuvred both vertically and horizontally before hitting a test target. It said once developed, the weapon would be able to strike key targets by surprise in the “Korean peninsula theatre of operations”.