SEOUL: North Korea said on Thursday it had tested a “cutting-edge” new weapon system using hypersonic missiles aimed at bolstering its defenses against Pyongyang’s foes.
The launch was detected by Seoul’s military on Wednesday and was Pyongyang’s first of its kind in months.
It came a week before world leaders, including US President Donald Trump, are set to descend on South Korea for a major regional summit.
Top military official Pak Jong Chon declared the “new cutting-edge weapon system is a clear proof of steadily upgrading self-defensive technical capabilities of the DPRK,” state news agency KCNA said, using North Korea’s official acronym.
KCNA said the test was aimed at enhancing the “sustainability and effectiveness of strategic deterrence against potential enemies.”
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was not reported to have attended the launch.
State media said the two “hypersonic projectiles” had been launched south of the capital Pyongyang and had hit a target in the country’s northeast.
Images shared by KCNA showed a missile flying through the air, before hitting a target and exploding in a hail of black dirt and smoke.
Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound and can maneuver mid-flight, making them harder to track and intercept.
North Korea says tested ‘cutting-edge’ new weapon system
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North Korea says tested ‘cutting-edge’ new weapon system
Cross-border clash breaks out between Pakistan and Afghanistan amid rising tensions
- Border residents say exchange of fire in the Chaman border sector lasted nearly two hours
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Afghanistan witnessed yet another border clash, according to officials in both countries who spoke in the early hours of Saturday, with each side accusing the other of launching “unprovoked” attacks.
Fighting erupted in Pakistan’s southwestern Chaman border sector, with an AFP report saying that residents on the Afghan side of the frontier reported the exchange of fire began at around 10:30 p.m. (1800 GMT) and continued for roughly two hours.
The incident underscored how tensions remain high between the neighbors, who have seen deadly clashes in recent months despite several rounds of negotiations mediated by Qatar and Türkiye that resulted in a tenuous truce in October.
“There has been unprovoked firing by Afghan Taliban elements in the Chaman Sector which is a reckless act that undermines border stability and regional peace,” said a Pakistani security official on condition of anonymity.
“Pakistani troops responded with precision, reinforcing that any violation of our territorial integrity will be met with immediate and decisive action,” he continued.
The official described Pakistan’s response as “proportionate and calibrated” that showed “professionalism even in the face of aggression.”
“The Chaman Sector exchange once again highlights the need for Kabul to rein in undisciplined border elements whose actions are destabilizing Afghanistan’s own international standing,” he added.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have grown increasingly bitter since the Taliban seized power in Kabul following the withdrawal of international forces in August 2021.
Islamabad accuses the Taliban administration of sheltering anti-Pakistan militant groups such as the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which have carried out deadly attacks in its western provinces bordering Afghanistan, targeting civilians and security forces.
The Taliban deny the charge, saying Pakistan’s internal security challenges are its own responsibility.
The Pakistani security official said his country remained “committed to peaceful coexistence, but peace cannot be one-sided.”
“Attempts to pressure Pakistan through kinetic adventurism have repeatedly failed and will continue to fail,” he said. “The Chaman response has reaffirmed that message unmistakably.”
He added that Pakistan’s security forces were fully vigilant and that responsibility for any escalation “would solely rest with those who initiated unprovoked fire.”
Mosharraf Zaidi, spokesman for Pakistan’s prime minister, also commented on the clashes in a social media post, saying the Afghan Taliban had “resorted to unprovoked firing along the border.”
“An immediate, befitting and intense response has been given by our armed forces,” he wrote.
Afghan authorities, however, blamed Pakistan for the hostilities.
Border clashes that began in October have killed dozens of people on both sides.
The latest incident comes amid reports of back-channel discussions between the two governments, although neither has publicly acknowledged such talks.
