The Korean Peninsula is once again teetering on the edge of tension. North Korea has conducted a bold new missile test — launching what it claims is a “cutting-edge” hypersonic weapon.
This wasn’t just another missile launch. It was a calculated show of force, coming less than a week before former U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the region. Trump is set to arrive in South Korea on October 29 for the APEC summit, following a trip to Japan.
According to reports, the test took place on October 22, when North Korea fired two projectiles that flew roughly 350 kilometres before striking a target within its borders. Interestingly, leader Kim Jong-un did not attend the launch. South Korean scholar Yang Moo-jin told AFP that Kim’s absence could suggest Pyongyang wanted to limit the test’s political impact ahead of the APEC summit.
The launch follows North Korea’s October 10 military parade, where it showcased what appeared to be short-range ballistic missiles with hypersonic capabilities — an event attended by the Chinese Premier.
The latest test marked several milestones: it was North Korea’s first ballistic missile launch since May and the first since Lee Jae-myung assumed office as South Korea’s President.
Hypersonic missiles are capable of travelling at speeds exceeding Mach 5 — more than 6,000 kilometres per hour — making them nearly impossible to intercept. Unlike traditional ballistic missiles that follow a fixed path, hypersonic weapons can manoeuvre mid-flight, evading radar and missile defences.
Although North Korea has been testing hypersonic technology since 2021, each new launch draws global scrutiny. Only a handful of nations — the U.S., China, Russia, and India — have successfully developed and tested hypersonic missiles, with countries like France, Iran, and North Korea working on similar capabilities.
Despite heavy U.N. sanctions, nuclear-armed North Korea has continued advancing its missile programme, including long-range ballistic missiles capable of reaching the U.S. mainland.
Washington has condemned the latest test as “unlawful and destabilising.” The U.S. Indo-Pacific Command urged Pyongyang to halt activities that violate U.N. Security Council resolutions. Yet, behind the scenes, reports suggest discussions about a possible Trump–Kim meeting are underway.
Is another Trump–Kim summit in the works? Trump seems open to it. Just last month, he expressed his willingness to meet Kim again. South Korean President Lee Jae-myung told CNN that renewed dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang “cannot be ruled out.” Kim himself recently said he had “fond memories” of Trump and would consider talks if the U.S. dropped its “delusional” demand for denuclearisation.
Trump and Kim have already met three times — in Singapore (2018), Hanoi (2019), and the border village of Panmunjom (2019). However, those talks collapsed over the key issue of nuclear disarmament: North Korea refused to abandon its weapons programme, while the U.S. insisted on full denuclearisation before easing sanctions.
In response to the latest provocation, South Korea has moved quickly. Seoul announced plans to deploy its Hyunmoo-5 “Monster Missile” — a 36,000-kg weapon carrying an 8,000-kg bunker-buster warhead capable of destroying underground facilities — by the end of the year. It also unveiled a new attack submarine, signalling that the South is ready to match the North’s military posturing with strength of its own.
