President Lee Observes in Person: "Hypersonic Missile Test-Launch Succeeds"

[Anchor]

A "hypersonic missile" being developed with our own domestic technology has succeeded in its first test-launch. Cheong Wa Dae announced that President Lee Jae-myung personally observed the test-launch. While Cheong Wa Dae did not mention North Korea directly, it is interpreted as part of military measures responding to the recent landmine explosion incident on the western front and North Korea's repeated missile launches.

For Thursday's 8 O'Clock News, reporter Kang Min-u has our first story.

[Reporter]

This afternoon (October 8), President Lee Jae-myung visited the Agency for Defense Development test site to observe the first test-launch of the hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), which is being researched and developed with domestic technology.

Cheong Wa Dae explained that the HGV is a missile that ascends to the upper atmosphere using a booster, separates, glides at low altitude, and strikes its target, possessing an unpredictable flight trajectory and overwhelming speed. It described it as "a core strategic asset capable of catching and neutralizing key strategic targets by surprise in a contingency, turning the tide of the battlefield."

After the test-launch succeeded, with the glide vehicle accurately hitting its designated target point, President Lee encouraged researchers and called for its prompt development and deployment, saying, "We must further advance hypersonic glide vehicles so that they can establish themselves as dependable strategic assets safeguarding our security."

[President Lee Jae-myung (September 29) : We must further accelerate the advancement of missile technologies such as hypersonic missiles, as well as the construction of nuclear-powered submarines, which are key to self-reliant national defense.]

President Lee's observation of the test-launch today is also interpreted as a countermeasure against last month's North Korean landmine explosion incident in the Demilitarized Zone and North Korea's recent series of missile launches.

Earlier on October 1, a demonstration of advanced weapons systems possessed by our military was also reviewed at the National Security Council (NSC).

President Lee also inspected the military's high-yield Hyunmoo-5 missile today, emphasizing self-reliant national defense capabilities.

While Cheong Wa Dae did not directly mention North Korea in announcing President Lee's observation of the test-launch, it assessed that "preparations are complete for the full-scale acquisition of a new deterrence capability in the battlefield environment of the Korean Peninsula."

(Reported by Jeong Sang-bo, Ha Ryung | Video by Lee So-young | Graphics by SOOIN)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.