Kim Jong-un punctuated September with flurry of new missiles
An example of the Hwasong-8 hypersonic missile was displayed at a defence exhibition in Pyongyang this week. (KCNA)
North Korea continues to surprise protagonists with the rate at which it develops new missile types.
Living up to the ‘Rocket Man’ moniker bestowed by former US president Donald Trump, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un fired a flurry of new missile types throughout September, including an intermediate-range cruise missile, a railcar-mounted short-range ballistic missile, a hypersonic missile and an air defence missile.
First off the rank, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported that cruise missile tests occurred on 11-12 September. After being launched from an 8x8 transporter-erector-launcher (TEL) possessing five launch tubes, the missiles reportedly flew for 126 minutes, travelled some 1,500km and hit their targets.
The advent of North Korean cruise missiles means that
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