North Korea tests first solid-fuel ‘hypersonic’ missile

North Korea has said it successfully fired a solid-fuel “hypersonic” missile for the first time, demonstrating Pyongyang’s increasingly sophisticated missile capabilities as the regime deepens defence co-operation with Russia.

The intermediate-range ballistic missile was launched from a site near Pyongyang on Sunday afternoon and flew eastward on a lofted trajectory for less than 12 minutes before splashing down in waters between North Korea and Japan, according to the South Korean and Japanese militaries.

If successful, Sunday’s launch would have been the first time Pyongyang combined two recent milestones in its weapons development programme — solid-fuel missiles and missiles with a “manoeuvring re-entry vehicle”.