North Korea announced that it had successfully tested a "new important combat weapon system" two days ago on September 20, observed by General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea Kim Jong-un.

The Korean Central News Agency reported today, "The Missile Administration successfully conducted a test of a new weapon of significant importance in advancing weapon system technology on September 20."

Kim's daughter, Kim Ju-ae, also accompanied him to the site.

General Secretary Kim emphasized that "this test is an indubitable demonstration of cutting-edge defense technology" and a "clear renewal in the modernization of armed forces," calling it "literally an irresistible force."

He also stressed that "it holds significant meaning for the state's war readiness posture and the prospective development of armed forces," adding, "Our adversaries will know better even without explanation what such renewal means in terms of military technology," and "To the enemies, this reality will become an incurable headache and a very harsh, inevitable baptism."

Photographs released by the Rodong Sinmun confirm that the words "Hwasongpo-11Ma-1 Flight Trajectory" were displayed on a monitor screen.

At the top of the screen, marked with the time 6:04:10 p.m., the text reads: "Time: 446.1s, Velocity: 2146m/s, Altitude: 35.8km, Distance: 908.2km."

The flight trajectory appears to be indicated by a red line, which was identified as performing a pull-up maneuver again at low altitude.

This is seen as a characteristic flight profile of a hypersonic missile.

According to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff, North Korea fired two short-range ballistic missiles in succession from the Wonsan area into the East Sea at a three-hour interval on the afternoon of September 20.

The JCS stated that it detected one ballistic missile each launched into the East Sea from around Wonsan at approximately 3:00 p.m. and 5:50 p.m. on September 20.

The JCS assessed that the first missile flew about 450 kilometers and the second missile flew more than 600 kilometers, which differs by more than 300 kilometers from the flight distance shown on the monitor.

Hypersonic missiles are as fast as ballistic missiles, but they fly at low altitudes like cruise missiles and possess irregular maneuverability, making them difficult to intercept and earning them the title of a "game changer."

(Photo: Captured from Korean Central News Agency, Yonhap News)