North Korea on Monday claimed it flight-tested a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile tipped with a hypersonic warhead as it pursues more powerful, harder-to-detect weapons designed to strike remote U.S. targets in the region. The report by North Korea’s state media came a day after the South Korean and Japanese militaries detected the launch from a site near the North Korean capital of Pyongyang, in what was the North’s first ballistic test of 2024. The launch came two months after North Korea said it successfully tested engines for a new solid-fuel intermediate-range missile, which reflected a push to advance its lineup of weapons targeting U.S. military bases in Guam and Japan.
North Korea's Kim Jong Un branded South Korea his country's "principal enemy" and warned he would not hesitate to annihilate it as he toured major weapons factories, state media said Wednesday.Kim, urging factory workers to modernise and "produce more weapons", said he had "no intention of avoiding a war" and warned he would have no hesitation in "annihilating" South Korea, KCNA added.