North Korea: “A soot-free hypersonic dud” vs. military: “That’s technological prowess” ... HGV technology spat

[Financial News] North Korea cited the lack of soot on the surface of the South Korean military’s hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) to question the success of its test launch, raising the “possibility of failure.” The Defense Ministry directly rebutted the claim, saying, “That is precisely our superior heat-resistant technology,” intensifying the war of nerves between the two Koreas. North Korea appears to be using this as a pretext to argue that it has grounds to strengthen its own defense capabilities and to justify an arms race.
According to the Defense Ministry on the 16th, military authorities dismissed the allegations North Korea raised the previous day about the HGV test launch, saying, “The HGV in our military’s first test launch was robustly designed around domestically produced heat-resistant materials with excellent heat resistance,” and, “It achieved thermal protection without soot even in hypersonic conditions.” HGVs flying at Mach 5 or higher must withstand extreme aerodynamic heating. The ministry says the absence of soot is not evidence of failure but instead demonstrates the advanced technology behind domestically produced heat-resistant materials. Earlier, the Blue House said that the HGV, which is being developed using indigenous technology, had been successfully test-launched at the Agency for Defense Development (ADD) Anheung test site on the 8th, with President Lee Jae-myung in attendance.
North Korea began trying to discredit South Korea’s announcement through its state media immediately after it was made. Jang Chang-ha, chief of North Korea’s Missile General Bureau, claimed the previous day, “Given that there was not a single trace of soot on the vehicle’s exterior and its paint remained pristine, it may not have flown at hypersonic speeds.” After the Defense Ministry’s rebuttal, Kim Jong-sik, first vice department director of the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee, issued a statement on the night of the 16th, again deriding the claim: “No matter whose technology is used, the phenomenon of paint burning off as surface temperatures rise cannot be prevented,” and, “It is absurd to try to pass off even an unavoidable physical phenomenon as a special technology unique to them.”
In particular, Kim, the first vice department director, said of the South Korean military’s plans to weaponize and further develop the HGV, “The enemies’ confrontational ambitions have provided us with an excellent justification for strengthening our national defense capabilities,” making clear that he intended to continue pursuing a policy of overwhelming military buildup. North Korea has indeed continued its show of force, test-launching an upgraded version of the short-range hypersonic missile Hwasong-11Ma on the 20th of last month and a medium-range hypersonic missile on the 3rd of this month. The development race between North and South Korea over hypersonic weapons—called “game changers” on the battlefield because they are difficult to intercept—is growing even more intense.
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