(FreedomBeacon.com)- South Korea has dismissed a claim from North Korea that a new hypersonic missile was recently launched by the communist nation. Government officials from South Korea said that the claim was exaggerated and that, while a rocket was launched, it was actually a regular ballistic missile.
The assertion from South Korea will no doubt anger Kim Jong Un and the North Korean regime, which is continuing efforts to present itself as a militarily-strong country – even though the world knows that the country is struggling through its worst-ever economic crisis.
The South Korean Defense Ministry said that North Korea hasn’t obtained any new missile technologies and does not have the capability of launching a hypersonic nuclear weapon.
The ministry claims that the North Korean rocket didn’t fly 700 kilometers, or 435 miles, and maneuver laterally as North Korea claims. Instead, the announcement was likely an effort to boost public confidence in North Korea about its missile program, and hopefully fool some global military and government officials into believing that North Korea has advanced weapons technologies.
Not only is Kim Jong Un working with his government to overcome his nation’s economic woes and food shortages, but he has recently called n his military to improve its weapons systems. Discussions with Washington, D.C. that were held during the Trump administration have ended, and Kim refuses to return to the negotiating table with new President Joe Biden.
The South Korean government said that its missiles are far superior to the weapons used in North Korea, not just in terms of the distance they can travel but also in terms of precision guidance and the destruction that their warheads can cause.