How did North Korea use South Korea’s hypersonic weapons development to justify its own arms buildup?

Kim Jong-sik said South Korea’s plan to further develop hypersonic glide vehicle weaponization reflected the confrontational ambitions of North Korea’s enemies. He described those ambitions as justification for strengthening North Korea’s defense capabilities.

Pyongyang rejects Seoul's hypersonic test claims, justifies own arms buildup

Q: Why did North Korea reject South Korea’s explanation for the hypersonic glide vehicle’s lack of soot?

North Korea argued that aerodynamic heating should cause paint to burn off regardless of heat-resistant materials or thermal-protection performance. Kim Jong-sik called Seoul’s explanation that domestically developed materials prevented visible damage “far-fetched.”

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Summary

North Korea criticized South Korea’s first hypersonic glide vehicle test on Friday, disputing Seoul’s explanation for the vehicle’s lack of visible soot. The test took place on Oct. 8 amid heightened inter-Korean tensions. Pyongyang said South Korea’s weapons development justified strengthening its own defense capabilities.

Key Facts

Kim Jong-sik, a vice department head of the Workers’ Party Central Committee, called Seoul’s explanation “far-fetched” in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
South Korea said the test vehicle used advanced thermal-protection technology, for which visible soot was not necessarily expected during hypersonic flight.
The test evaluated high-temperature thermal-protection materials, guidance and control systems, and the vehicle’s ability to maneuver unpredictably at low altitudes.
Tensions had increased after a land mine explosion in the border area injured three South Korean soldiers.

By Yonhap

Published Oct 17, 2026 12:20 am KST
Updated Oct 17, 2026 11:15 am KST

South Korea test-fires a hypersonic glide vehicle from the Agency for Defense Development for the first time on Oct. 8 in this file photo provided by Cheong Wa Dae. Yonhap

North Korea renewed its attack on South Korea's recent hypersonic weapon test Friday, rejecting Seoul's explanation that advanced materials prevented the weapon from showing burn marks and using the South's weapons development to justify its own arms buildup.

The latest dispute comes as the two Koreas offer conflicting assessments of the technology demonstrated in South Korea's first test launch of a hypersonic glide vehicle on Oct. 8. North Korea initially questioned the test's success, arguing the vehicle must have failed to reach hypersonic speeds because photos showed no soot on its surface.

Seoul's defense ministry countered that the vehicle was equipped with advanced thermal-protection technology and that visible soot was not necessarily expected during hypersonic flight.

On Friday, Pyongyang fired back at the defense, calling Seoul's explanation "far-fetched."

"It's not a matter of heat-resistant materials or thermal protection performance," Kim Jong-sik, a vice department head of the Workers' Party Central Committee, said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.

Seoul made "the far-fetched claim that it was 'thanks to the excellent performance of domestically developed heat-resistant materials,' but no country's technology can prevent paint from burning off due to a rise in surface temperature caused by aerodynamic heating," Kim argued.

Criticizing South Korea's plan to further develop technologies for weaponizing hypersonic glide vehicles, he said, "The confrontational ambitions of our vicious enemies have provided us with the most reasonable justification for strengthening our defense capabilities."

The test came amid heightened inter-Korean tensions following a recent land mine explosion in the border area that injured three South Korean soldiers.

The test was intended to evaluate high-temperature thermal protection materials, guidance and control systems, and the vehicle's ability to maneuver unpredictably at low altitudes.

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