KCNA: North Korea successfully tests solid-fuel medium-range ballistic missile

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) announced on January 15 that North Korea had successfully test-fired a solid-fuel intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) as part of regular activities to develop powerful weapon systems.

According to KCNA, the missile carrying a hypersonic warhead was launched on the afternoon of January 14 to test the warhead's flight control and stability as well as the reliability of the missile's solid-fuel engine.

“The test did not have any impact on the safety of our neighboring countries and had no bearing on the regional security situation,” KCNA said in a statement.

Earlier, the South Korean military announced on January 14 that they detected a launch from an area in or around Pyongyang at around 2:55 p.m. the same day (local time) and the missile flew about 1,000km before crashing into the sea.

This is North Korea's first missile launch since launching the solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile on December 18, 2023.

The latest launch comes amid a series of artillery shellings from both North and South Korea as part of live-fire military exercises along the maritime border between the two Koreas.