North Korea's Kim lauds test of apparent new hypersonic missile

Hong Kong — With his teenage daughter and possible successor by his side, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un watched on Sunday as his country tested a purported new hypersonic weapon designed to evade missile defenses. North Korean state media said Kim had lauded the weapon as an "irresistible force" that would be an "incurable headache" for North Korea's adversaries.The country's state-run KCNA news agency said the "new weapon" tested on Sunday was "of great significance."The type of weapon was not specified by the reports, but photographs released by KCNA showed Kim, with his daughter Kim Ju Ae, inspecting a screen with a label reading, "Hwasongpho-11Ma-1 flight trajectory." North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, accompanied by his daughter Kim Ju Ae, attends a test of a new type of weapon at an undisclosed location in North Korea on Sept. 20, 2026, in a photo released by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency two days later. KCNA/Reuters Analysts say the title suggests the test was of an upgraded version of an existing North Korean short-range ballistic missile that adds a retrofitted hypersonic glide vehicle. Hypersonic missiles can generally fly lower and faster than convent...