Ahead of Donald Trump’s Asia visit, North Korea announced on Thursday that it successfully tested a “cutting-edge” hypersonic missile system designed to boost its defenses.
South Korea’s military detected the launch on Wednesday — Pyongyang’s first such test in months. The timing is notable: it comes one week before global leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump, arrive in Seoul for a high-profile regional summit.
Senior military official Pak Jong Chon hailed the test as “clear evidence of the DPRK’s steadily advancing self-defense capabilities,” according to state-run KCNA. The agency stated the exercise was intended to improve the “reliability and potency of strategic deterrence against potential threats.”Leader Kim Jong Un did not attend the launch.
State media reported that two hypersonic projectiles were fired from an area south of Pyongyang, striking a target in the country’s northeast.
KCNA released photos showing a missile streaking through the sky before impacting with a violent plume of smoke and debris.
Hypersonic weapons exceed five times the speed of sound and can change course mid-flight, making them extremely difficult to detect and intercept.
This year, Russia — a prominent ally of North Korea — has used similar missiles with devastating effect in Ukraine, while Iran claimed to use them against Israel.
No specifics were provided on the missiles’ range, flight path, or velocity. Kim’s absence from the event may signal an intent to downplay the provocation, said Yang Moo-jin, former president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
“Still, given its reach, this hypersonic missile is unmistakably aimed at the South,” Yang told AFP, pointing to the launch’s proximity to the upcoming APEC summit.
Trump Heads To Asia
US President Donald Trump is set to embark on a major trip to Asia this week, with all eyes on an expected meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping that has huge implications for the global economy.
Trump said on Wednesday he was making a “big trip” to Malaysia, Japan, and South Korea, his first visit to the region since he returned to the White House in a blaze of tariffs and geopolitical brinkmanship.
Much of the trip remains shrouded in uncertainty. The White House has given almost no details, and Trump has warned that his anticipated sit-down with Xi in South Korea may not even happen amid ongoing tensions.
Meanwhile, the host nations are set to roll out the red carpet to ensure they stay on the right side of the unpredictable 79-year-old and win the best deals they can on tariffs and security assistance.
His first stop is expected to be Malaysia for the October 26-28 summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) — a grouping Trump skipped several times in his first term.
Trump is set to ink a trade deal with Malaysia — but more importantly, to oversee the signing of a peace accord between Thailand and Cambodia, as he continues his quest for a Nobel Peace Prize.
“President Trump is keen to see the more positive results of the peace negotiations between Thailand and Cambodia,” Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday.
The US leader may also meet Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the summit to improve ties after months of bad blood, officials from both countries told AFP.
Trump’s next stop is expected to be Tokyo, where he will be able to meet conservative Sanae Takaichi, named this week as Japan’s first woman prime minister.
Japan has escaped the worst of the tariffs Trump slapped on countries around the world to end what he calls unfair trade balances that are “ripping off the United States.”
At the same time, Trump wants Japan to halt Russian energy imports and has also urged Tokyo to follow Western allies in increasing defense spending.
Xi In South Korea?
But the climax of the trip is expected to be in South Korea, where Trump is due to arrive on October 29 for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit — and potentially meet Xi.
The first meeting between the two leaders since Trump’s return to office could smooth over the trade war between Washington and Beijing — but Beijing’s rare earth curbs have also infuriated Trump.
Trump initially threatened to cancel the meeting and impose fresh tariffs before saying he would go ahead after all. But he added on Tuesday that still “maybe it won’t happen.”
He said on Wednesday that he hoped to make a deal with Xi on “everything” and also hoped the Chinese leader could have a “big influence” on getting Russia’s Vladimir Putin to end the Ukraine war.
Analysts warned not to expect any breakthroughs.
“The meeting will be a data point along an existing continuum rather than an inflection point in the relationship,” said Ryan Hass, a senior fellow at Brookings Institution.
South Korea, seeking its own trade deal, is reportedly considering the rare step of awarding Trump the Grand Order of Mugunghwa — the country’s highest decoration — during his visit.
North Korea will also be on the agenda. The country fired multiple ballistic missiles on Wednesday, just days before Trump was due to visit.
Trump has said he hopes to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong Un following several meetings during the US president’s first term, but there has been no confirmation of reports that the White House is considering a new meeting this time.
© Agence France-Presse
